


Total Drama Wars

by WhatTheHeck23



Category: Total Drama (Cartoon)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-07
Updated: 2020-12-03
Packaged: 2021-03-08 02:21:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 115,328
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26868106
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WhatTheHeck23/pseuds/WhatTheHeck23
Summary: Chris Maclean and Chef Hatchet, the hosts of Total Drama, have been renewed for a fifth season after TDROTI. Featuring an "All-Star" cast consisting of 20 prominent contestants of the past, they welcome you to Total Drama Wars! Watch as the contestants battle over their personal issues and over 5 million dollars! Who will prevail at the end! Come find out! Drama! Sarcasm! Jokes!
Comments: 5
Kudos: 23





	1. The Bitter Beginning (Chapter 1 Part 1)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chris McLean presents to you the fifth season of Total Drama, dubbed Total Drama Wars! 20 contestants from both past generations will duke it out in the most brutal season yet! Fan favorites and all-stars were selected. Who are they? What will their dynamics be? And who will win the prize at the end? Find out now!

_**Total Drama Wars (New & Improved All-Stars)** _

* * *

**Disclaimer: I do not own Total Drama or any of the characters that appear in this story. They are the property of FreshTv and the parent company of the Total Drama television series.  
**

**Welcome All Visitors! I hope you'll give this story a fair chance and I also hope you enjoy!**

**Important Note: This story is a rewrite of Total Drama All-Stars, the official canon 5th season of the Total Drama series. As many of you most likely were, I was extremely dissatisfied with how the show portrayed some of my favorite characters and also how the show ignored many characters for the benefit of two *COUGH* you know who they are.**

**This fanfiction shall be different! I am including a cast of 20 and I am trying to be unbiased in terms of who is eliminated at each point. Like all of you, I love me some Total Drama! So, maybe help me improve the story by sending any ideas you might have. I'd be very interested in hearing them!**

**Also, this is my first fanfiction, so I hope you keep the criticism and praise fair. I'm going to try to keep it updated, but I've got lots of college work. Maybe you guys could shoot me some ideas and tell me what you think? I'll try my best to respond to everyone!**

**Warning: These first two chapters will be shorter in comparison to the others. That is because these are mainly to introduce the characters to you again and show their motives and main interaction points. Plus, it's the first challenge!**

_Shoot a follow or fav to the story if you like it. Maybe review it so I can hear what you thought. Recommend the story to others if you like it :)_

* * *

**Day 1 Part 1: The Bitter Beginning**

* * *

_**Dear Mom and Dad I'm doin' fine,** _

(The camera pans over the cliff, where Scott, Alejandro, and Ezekiel are peering over the edge as some of the sharks wave them down. Ezekiel and Alejandro look at each other before Scott lets out a scream)

_**You guys are on my mind.** _

(The camera jumps down into water, where Harold is swimming. Nearby, a boat race is happening between Courtney, Jo, and Heather. Courtney's boat runs over Harold's head as she paddles ferociously)

_**You asked me what I wanted to be** _

_**And now I think the answer is plain to see** _ _,_

(On the beach, Gwen and Duncan lay together in a towel. They lean in to kiss, only for Duncan to fall backwards into the sand after hearing Scott's scream)

_**I wanna be famous.** _

(Noah and Justin are push-fighting outside the confessional as Leshawna walks out of it and shoves Noah to the ground. Justin starts laughing at him until Leshawna steps on his foot)

_**I wanna live close to the sun,** _

_**Go pack your bags, 'cause I've already won,** _

(Zoey can be seen in the mess hall holding Mike's hands and leaning in. Mike suddenly clutches his head and runs out the door)

_**Everything to prove, nothing in my way** _

_**I'll get there one day.** _

(The camera pans to outside of the mess hall, where Mike trips over the steps and falls on top of Lightning, who was on his morning run outside. They both groan in pain)

_**Cause, I wanna be famous!** _

(The camera pans to the front of the cabins. Brick and Lindsay are sitting next to each other on the steps, where she is seen talking to him about fashion. She sees Trent walking by and tries to fix her hair, only to topple off of the steps)

_**Na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na!** _

(The camera pans back over to the campfire at night, where all of the campers sit in the middle on the log-seats except for Cody, who is leaning against Chris's podium and trying to flirt with Eva, who has her arms crossed. Chris comes over and shoves Cody off of the podium as Chef tells him a joke and he laughs maniacally)

_**I wanna be, I wanna be, I wanna be famous** _

_**I wanna be, I wanna be, I wanna be famous** _

(The camera slowly fades out as it leaves the campfire and slowly shifts to the indigo sky scattered with bright white stars. All of the campers whistle as the intro ends)

* * *

_(The Familiar Docks of Wawanakwa Island, the ocean calm in the background and the campfire visible in the blazing daylight)_

Chris McLean laid on a foldout beach chair with an exotic and colorful design as he sips an umbrella drink and looks directly into the camera. He smiled and stood up, throwing his hands into the air enthusiastically. "Welcome back viewers! We've heard your demands for another Total Drama season and I must say that I think you'll be very pleased with what we have lined up!"

Chris walked into the center of the dock. "For the next few weeks, you'll be watching 20 of our past contestants duke it out as they viciously compete for a shot at our top prize of 5-MILLION DOLLARS!" He unveiled his trademark smile and paused for dramatic effect at that.

"Loyal viewers might remember that we've had some distinct differences between seasons in the past. Total Drama Island was a simple campground on this island, Total Drama Action consisted of movie themed challenges, Total Drama World Tour featured different challenges in famous locations around the world, and Total Drama Revenge of The Island returned back to this campground when it was filled to the brim with toxic waste!"

Chris wiped a tear from his eye, "That one was my favorite really. All of the awesome mutant creatures! Unfortunately, it was all sterilized and cleaned up."

Chef Hatchet walked into frame in his war outfit that had been featured in several previous challenges. He blew his whistle loudly as he and Chris grinned almost evilly.

"Thanks for the cue, Chef. I almost got caught up reminiscing there."

"Now, viewers, we come again to Camp Wawanakwa for a total duke-out of past competitors in TOTAL DRAMA WARS! We've selected some of our most prominent contestants from the past and some fan favorites as well to return for your viewing entertainment as they face betrayal, friendship, love, old wounds, and whatever we throw at them in the largest-budget total drama season ever! It's going to be all-out war!" Chris pointed his index fingers in the air as the breeze caught his hair and blew it in a dramatic direction. Chef, getting tired of the drama that Chris brought, laid down on Chris's beach chair and began sipping from his cup behind him.

Suddenly, a boat siren sounded loudly and Chris looked to the side in surprise before quickly regaining his composure. He smiled again at the camera, "It looks like our first competitor has arrived early. I wonder who it could be?"

Suddenly, the boat pulled up to the end of the Dock of Shame. A familiar figure stepped off, holding a guitar case in one hand and a pair of dice in the other.

"Trent! Welcome back my man." Chris clapped Trent on the back as the musician seemed to nervously walk onto the dock. Trent looked around for a moment, his eyes scanning the Island and seeming to be full of painful memories of Total Drama Island.

He glanced back at Chris and smiled slightly, "Hey Chris. I'm guessing I'm the first to get here? What's the gimmick for this season anyway? I'm kinda hoping for something different from movie themes."

Chris chuckled at the joke, "Don't you worry man, Total Drama Action is going to be nothing compared to Total Drama Wars! This is a season based on the All Stars from the past!"

As Chris finished his sentence, another boat showed up at the end of the dock. Out stepped the familiar form of Heather, with longer hair then she had back in Total Drama World Tour. Her gold tooth gleamed in the autumn light and her eyes narrowed as she laid eyes on Chris and Trent, still standing next to each other.

She strutted forward onto the dock with her head held high and her arms stubbornly crossed.

"Why hello there Heather," Chris smirked, "Fancy seeing one of our past winners here again. Though I'm sure you remember the Island." He slyly hinted back to when Heather left the Island bald and screaming after Triple Dog Dare.

Heather ignored him, but the camera caught her left eye twitching.

"McLean." Eva stepped off of the next boat, looking much the same and towering over the others with her signature unibrow and crossed arms.

Chris almost seemed to flinch away as he smiled somewhat fairly. "Heeyyyyyy Evvvaaaa. Long time no see, huh?" Trent and even Heather flinched at Chris's words, waiting for Eva to lose it. However, they were both left in surprise when Eva just grunted angrily and walked past Chris quickly towards them, dropping her heavy bags on the dock and staring straight ahead.

Suddenly, a muscular Latino man with burn scars all over his arms and others snaking around his neck stepped out onto the dock, sunglasses hiding his emerald green eyes from view. Chris went over to greet him, "Alejandro! Bro! I'm glad to see one of Total Drama's greatest competitors is back for another round!" He offered his fist for a bump, but was left cold as Alejandro walked past him, standing noticeably far from Heather next to Trent. Heather's eyes went to the side, seeming to be trying to avoid looking at him.

Trent greeted him with a handshake and a smile, "Hey man, how're you doing?" Alejandro glanced at the outstretched hand for a moment and then met it with his own, growing a small one-sided smile, "Lately, not that great. But I'm hoping that this year will be different. And hopefully I can earn some forgiveness for what I did in the past." He gained an uneasy look on his face.

Trent scratched the back of his neck, "Yeah, I'm kind of hoping for some forgiveness from a certain someone..."

Chris popped up between them, grinning wildly, "It looks like that certain someone is pulling up now! Everybody say hello to favorite goth girl and boyfriend kisser, Gwen!"

Gwen scowled at Chris as she stepped onto the dock, "Bite it Maclean. I'm only back because that stupid contract was for four seasons." At this, she walked towards the others as Chris stood back, mockingly holding his heart.

Trent and Gwen exchanged an awkward glance as she stood over next to Eva, who just gave her a simple glance and then looked away.

"I'm loving the uncomfortable drama already! Maybe we'll get some more when we see Gwen's new boy toy, Duncan, show up," Chris exclaimed when, as if on cue, Duncan appeared off of the next simple white boat. "Eat it Maclean. I don't have to answer to you about my personal life. Last I checked, you're not the beacon of morality around these parts."

He scanned the other competitors before walking over to them, "So this is who we got? How are Elvis and Fitness Gorilla here even considered All-Stars?" Eva just glared at him coldly and Trent seemed very uncomfortable about his presence.

Duncan laughed and pulled up next to Gwen, "Hey pasty, miss me?" They shared a quick kiss as the next boat arrived, carrying one of Duncan's mortal enemies: a red-haired nerd in long sleeves who claims to have mad skills.

Chris quickly took back over, "Yo Harold, our favorite nerd! How're you doing man? Ready to show us some new skills?" Chris shook Harold's hand before the nerd wearily walked over to Trent, glancing rather hatefully at Alejandro and then at Duncan. Duncan returned the look right back.

Harold whispered quietly to his band mate Trent, "Gosh! Why are they allowing those jerks back?" Trent shot a smile at Harold and just shrugged, "Chris likes the drama, man. You should know that by now." Harold nodded at him and looked down, seeming bothered about something.

"Hey hey hey y'all! Leshawna is in the house!" Leshawna, clad in her usual clothes and with her raven ponytail, came walking onto the dock, waving at Gwen mostly.

Chris grinned at her, "Here is our home girl Leshawna! Here to redeem herself from her poor performance in World Tour!" At this, Leshawna glared at him and drug one of her fingers across her throat. She high-fived Gwen as she walked by, chatting up a storm with her as Duncan watched somewhat disdainfully.

Harold didn't even glance her way. Alejandro, on the other hand, did.

"Next up is Total Drama's resident lovable beauty, Lindsayyyy!" Chris grinned very widely as one of his favorite contestants walked up the dock, waving at all of the contestants in a very friendly way. Behind her rolled two giant backpacks, likely full of beauty products. "Hello Chris. Oh my gosh, are we competing here on Wakanda again?"

Some of the other contestants, notably Duncan and Gwen, chuckled a bit at Lindsay's signature habit of mixing up names as the blonde walked over to Leshawna and Gwen to join their conversation.

Suddenly, two people came off of the same boat, arms wrapped around each other's shoulders as they walked towards the crowd of mostly unfamiliar people. One wore a teal shirt and had spiky dark brown hair, while the other wore a red tank top and had matching red hair. Chris didn't look as ecstatic to see them, "And here is the nauseously lovable couple of Multiple Mike and Zoey!"

Mike and Zoey didn't seem happy to see Chris either, but they nonetheless greeted him, "Hey Chris, nice to see they let you out of jail for this," Mike said with a slight friendly grin as they walked past the host.

Zoey mirrored him with a quick greeting to Chris before turning towards the other competitors, "I hope that we'll be able to make friends with most of you. I look forward to getting to know you all. I watched you all on Total Drama in the past." She blushed a bit at her confession, feeling a bit like a fan girl.

Eva simply lifted an eyebrow, but awkwardly offered a slight twitch of her lips. Harold and Trent smiled at them. Gwen, Leshawna, and Duncan seemed a bit skeptical. Heather and Alejandro seemed uncaring.

Lindsay seemed confused, "Who are these new people? Are they the interns?"

Chris chuckled at her question, "Ahhh Lindsay, never change."

Another boat pulled up, it's passenger running onto the dock and striking a pose, "Chris! The Lightning is glad to see that somebody around here appreciates talent!"

Chris tilted an eyebrow at Lightning as the others laughed at him. "Nice to see you again Lightning. Your enthusiasm seems to know no bounds, despite your epic fail last year. Now go join your fellow victi— I mean competitors and try not to annoy me too much." Lightning went over to join the others, not noticing that most of the others didn't look enthusiastic about his arrival.

"Next up is Total Drama's lonely ladies man! The Codemeister himself graces us with his presence!"

As Chris announced this, Cody walked onto the dock with his head held high, shooting finger guns at everyone. "You bet he is! And the Codemeister won't be going home empty-handed this time!"

He strutted confidently towards the others as some of them looked skeptically at him. Notably, Eva, Alejandro, and Duncan didn't seem to see him as much of a threat. Cody stopped briefly to greet Harold and Trent, his fellow Drama Brothers, only to surprisingly walk over to Heather. The Queen Bee smiled slightly and began somewhat reluctantly talking to her old ally. Gwen raised an eyebrow at this and seemed a bit miffed.

"Next comes our resident gym girl with a bad attitude! And no, Eva is already here! It's Jo!"

Jo walked onto the dock, her eyes seeming to measure the competitors before her. With a snort at the competitors she recognized, she cockily asked Chris, "Is this really it? I'll have the money in no time. Especially with Brightning here."

Lightning looked angry at this but decided to keep his mouth shut, his eyes dark all of a sudden at the sight of Jo.

Jo stomped on Chris's foot as she walked by. He jumped, grabbing his injured foot. Chef Hatchet, forgotten in the background in a nap, awoke at this and chuckled a bit.

"Owwwww, what the heck? I'm supposed to be the one bringing the pain around here!"

As Chris complained, a new boat left a familiar hunk standing at the end of the dock. His blue eyes gleaming, he gave an award-winning smile to everyone else.

"Hey there everyone. Miss me?" He walked towards them, his eyes seeming full of determination and of confidence. Some of the others seemed surprised, with Duncan and Gwen looking weary of him.

Chris regained his footing and grinned at the camera, "That was Total Drama Action's handsome villain, Justin! And it seem like his old flame follows him!"

Justin turned around in surprise, as everyone sees Courtney, the formerly psychopathic CIT step off of the next boat. She seemed to be determined to keep her face neutral at the sight of the others, most of whom she didn't have a good past with. Her eyes lingered on Duncan and Gwen, only to drift back to Chris in a deadpan.

"This better be a fair and relatively safe game, McLean. I had my lawyers scour the contracts in anticipation for this season."

Chris flinched a bit at the mention of her man-eating lawyers, but Chef Hatchet placed a hand on the host's shoulder to steady him, shaking his head.

Chris stared into Courtney's eyes, "I'm sure this will meet your standards. Certainly no reckless endangerment of contestants here." He seemed to chuckle at this, as if it was a joke. Courtney glared at him and walked over to join the others.

Chris caught sight of the next boat as some contestants seemed uneasy at Courtney's presence, particularly Harold, Gwen, Duncan, and Alejandro.

"Ahhh, I see that our loyal soldier Brick returns to the island next. How are you man?"

Brick saluted Chris and the others and smiled cheerfully as he entered. "Hello sir! Brick MacArthur reporting for duty, again! I look forward to this war with such formidable competitors." His eyes roamed over the others, lingering a bit over Jo before he saw Mike and Zoey. He smiled and marched over to them, chatting with them as they patted him on the back.

Chris smiled almost genuinely at this, before remembering who was arriving next. He smirked evilly as he announced, "I'm sure you guys won't be as upbeat when you see another one of your old friends back again! Next up is famous manipulator farm boy, Scott!"

The former Revenge of The Island contestants looked extremely weary as they caught sight of Scott, in all of his cocky glory, step foot on the dock and grin cheekily at them. He looked much the same as he had before being placed in his trauma chair during the last season.

"Why hello there, buds," he cackled, "I'm sure we'll have as much fun as we did last time, eh?" Mike and Zoey glared at him hatefully as Jo looked bitterly at him. He grinned at the reaction and strolled over to them. Some of the old-school competitors began to think that he was bad news.

Chris's smile widened at the next boat's entrance. "Next up is the cynical opponent of Alejandro in World Tour! Total Drama's dodgeball-allergic bookworm, Noah!"

At this announcement, Noah stepped off of his boat, looking neutrally at the others and seeming disinterested in how he was characterized. He walked snidely past Chris, "How original, Chris. Did you hone your insulting skills on a playground? Oh wait, you probably were more likely to hone them in a jail yard."

Some of the others chuckled at Noah's dry humor, including Chef Hatchet, "Scrawny kinda got you there, didn't he Chris?" Chef laughed as Chris glared at him and the final boat pulled up.

Chris's smile returned quickly though as he realized who it was in the last boat. "Last and certainly least! Total Drama's sexist prairie boy-turned-freakshow, Ezekiel!"

The others gasped and some who had encountered Ezekiel in the past looked a bit frightened at this development. Duncan winced as he rubbed his chest, remembering how Ezekiel had pummeled him in Africa. The contestants from Revenge of The Island remembered how Ezekiel had sent vicious mutant gophers after them in the mines. Heather, however, turned away from Cody and looked furiously at the boat entrance, likely remembering the fate of her earned prize money at the hands of Ezekiel.

Slowly, Ezekiel stepped onto the dock. But he wasn't what they expected. His skin, once tinged green, now was just a sickly pale white. His hair, once nonexistent, now looked almost identical to how it had looked when he was captured in London. He looked quite depressingly at the others and walked over to the them as Chris grinned at him maniacally.

"Hey Zeke! Long time no see!"

Ezekiel's eye twitched and he turned to glare at the host, "The Zeke knows that he doesn't have a prayer's chance in this game, eh, but he's sure as heck not gonna surrender to you, Chris."

The others looked startled that Ezekiel could speak. But they stayed silent because they didn't know what might set him off.

Chris, recovering from those unexpected harsh words, glared back at Chef who was still laughing at him.

"These teenagers are really giving it to you, eh Chris man?"

"Chef, if you want to have your paychecks get "lost in the mail" again, like they were in season 2, keep laughing at me."

The big man stopped immediately as Chris opted to begin his monologue.

"Alright! Everyone is here now. Let's head over to the campgrounds so I can explain to you what this season is going to be like." He then put his hands behind his back in an authoritative way and walked towards the campfire, Chef Hatchet marching behind him, still in military attire. When the cook noticed that the contestants were still standing there, he grumbled and blew into his whistle hard. "Excuuuuuse me, maggots! I believe you were told to follow us!"

At this treatment, those who remembered Chef Hatchet's boot camp sighed heavily. All contestants reluctantly follow Chris and Chef to the campfire, where elimination ceremonies usually took place.

* * *

Once Chris stood at his usual podium and the campers took seats on the carved logs in the middle, he took out some notecards, seeming to study them real quick before putting them down and clearing his throat. The cards caught the eye of some of the contestants who were sitting closest to Chris, namely Noah, Gwen, and Harold, who all noticed the words, "producers", "serious injury", and "dangerous".

Let's just say that this didn't make anyone who saw such words feel better about being on the island again.

"Now, this season is going to be the hallmark of Total Drama," Chris paused for dramatic effect, "In fact, all of you were selected for either being prevalent players of past seasons or for particularly heroic or villainous behavior." Some of the contestants glanced at each other.

"Before I get into sorting you into teams though, I'll explain how this is going to work. Once a challenge is over and there is a losing team and a winning team, members of the winning team will compete for an award, while members of the losing team will compete for immunity in a follow-up challenge. This feature was added to make things more interesting, namely since we had someone who threw challenges last season," Chris glared at Scott after he said this last part. Scott shrunk back a little as he felt eyes on him.

"Hey! It was a winning strategy! I was there to win, not make good TV," Scott argued in his defense.

Chris dismissed him with his hand and continued on, "One person will be eliminated in every episode. Nobody will be coming back once they are gone. EVER."

The contestants rolled their eyes at this. You couldn't trust Chris when he said that. They knew from experience.

Duncan mockingly raises his hand, "You mean like when Eva was brought back in season 1, or when Courtney was brought back in season 2, or maybe when I was brought back in season 3?"

Chris glared at him, but Duncan just offered a smartass grin in reply. Some muffled laughter could be heard from some of the others.

Chris sighed dramatically and held his head, "You kids really wound me. I try to be nice to you and you just don't appreciate it."

Almost all of them raised eyebrows at this.

"You mean like when you pushed me off of a cliff in Jamaica," Noah deadpanned.

"Or when you made fun of me after I was voted off," Trent interjected.

"Or when you catapulted me away from the Island with a shark," Scott venomously said.

Chris began laughing, "Ahhh yeah, good times. Good times. But I'm here to tell you that things'll be different from now on. I might've been just a tad bit hard on you campers before. Now, before we interrupt any further, let's sort you poor teenagers into teams."

"If I say your name, go to the left. Alejandro. Scott. Ezekiel. Leshawna. Eva. Gwen. Cody. Trent. Mike. And Brick."

Chris dramatically held up a red logo of a shark with a toothy and threatening grin and threw the banner to Alejandro, "You guys will henceforth be called the Killer Sharks! Trademark."

Chris did a pose and wagged his finger in the air, "Heather, Zoey, Lightning, Harold, Noah, Jo, Lindsay, Duncan, Courtney, and Justin! You lot will now be known as, duh duh duh, the Screaming Bears! Not trademarked." The host now held up a green logo of a bear with an unhinged jaw and its paws resting frantically on its head and threw the banner to Heather.

Noah raised his hand, "Uh, hey Chris, what's with the obsession with "killer" and "screaming"? I seem to remember that in both Island and Action."

Chris grinned at him, "Great question Noah! Of course, I am not obligated to answer you, for you are being rude to the greatest mind ever: Me."

Gwen grumbled a bit on her log, "As modest as ever, Chris."

Noah just cocked an eyebrow and looked directly at the camera, "Why do I even bother anymore?"

Lindsay, who stood next to him, patted his shoulder, "Maybe Chris is just obsessed with comedy movies. They usually have killing and screaming a lot, I think. It reminds me of this time that my sister Paula rented this, like totally new movie, and we didn't know what it was, and —"

"As illuminating as this discussion is," Chris interjected quickly, not wanting to listen to one of Lindsay's ramblings, "We need to explain why you contestants were specifically picked, so as to appease any viewers who didn't get their favorites picked." At this, both Chris and Chef twitched and seemed to whisper the name "Dawn" under their breath. Scott looked weirdly at them.

"Gwen! You were one of the major players in season 1 and you also produced lots of drama in seasons 2 and 3, along with Duncan here," Chris slyly said, winking at Courtney. Courtney's hands noticeably balled up and started turning red.

"Leshawna! Your feud with Heather in season 1 was a major plot point and that continued in seasons 2 and 3!" Heather scowled at the host while Leshawna grinned proudly.

"Trent! Your kiss with Heather was a big deal in season 1 and so was your relationship with Gwen. You were a major part of season 2, especially when you threw challenges and went insane!" Trent looked dejectedly at the ground as Gwen also began looking uncomfortable at the reminders.

"Cody! You are a fan favorite! You also got third place in season 3 and proved yourself a pretty cool dude in season 1, getting Gwen and Trent together!" Cody smiled his signature gap-toothed grin and closed his eyes proudly.

"Lindsay! You were Heather's main ally in season 1 until you stood up for yourself. You proved your subsequent strengths in seasons 2 and 3!" Lindsay blinked and then began nodding, "Thanks, Chris!"

"Duncan! You've made the merge every season you've been in and you stirred up quite a bit of drama with Courtney, Gwen, and Trent!" Duncan seemed almost smug at that thought, glancing over at Courtney, who simply ignored him and placed her hands on her hips. Gwen smiled at him from the other team.

"Eva! You may have only competed in one season, but you make for interesting TV! Everyone is interested to see your anger and your cutthroat attitude in play! Especially me and Chef!" Eva simply glared at Chris and began growling. She flipped him the bird and looked the other way as the other competitors glanced at her.

"Alejandro! Need I say more? You were the main villain of Total Drama World Tour! You're one of the best competitors on this show, dude!" Chris clapped his hands in remembrance of the beautiful ratings that Alejandro's scheming had brought in. Alejandro himself looked somewhat conflicted by the reminder of what he had done.

"Heather! You were the main villain in Island, bringing all that tasty drama we love so much! And you were the main opponent of Alejandro in World Tour!" Some others glared at Heather, especially Gwen and Leshawna as they remembered all of the dirty tricks Heather had pulled in the past. Courtney joined in, still bitter at being stuck with Heather for most of Total Drama World Tour. Cody looked a bit uncertain of what to do.

"Justin! You were the main villain of Action and you brought life to that season with how you manipulated your way through, especially when you guilt-tripped Gwen over what she did to Trent!" Justin rubbed his arm a bit, realizing this reminder wasn't going to make him any more popular around the Island.

"Ezekiel! You're the worst player in Total Drama history! You were kicked off first in both seasons that you competed in! You're only here because you're somehow a fan favorite and because your feral episodes in World Tour and Revenge of The Island made things interesting!" Ezekiel slumped down a bit in his seat at the reminder of his losses in the past. Nobody payed him much attention.

"Harold! Your mad skills have proven very useful in challenges and you were one of the major players of Action! The viewers loved how you stood up to Duncan!" Harold smiled and crossed his arms at this, glad to know some people appreciated his skills. Duncan scowled at the memory of Harold punching him out.

"Courtney! Your psychopathic behavior in Action and in World Tour made you very popular with the fans!" Courtney looked a bit miffed at Chris's barbed words.

"Noah! You are in no way an All-Star, but many believe you have potential! You're popular with the viewers and you were one of the few to figure Alejandro out in World Tour!" Noah rolled his eyes, pulling out a book. This introduction was starting to bore him now that his name was out of the way.

"Brick! Your heroic actions endeared the viewers! Everyone seemed to think that you had some serious untapped potential!" Brick smiled proudly that his actions had gone over well with the audience. Some, like Jo and Lightning, looked a bit jealous of this attention.

"Mike! Your multiple personality struggle was a huge hit with the viewers! As was your feud with Scott and your romance with Zoey! Zoey! This is the same reason that you are here!" Mike scratched his head a bit at this as Zoey smiled at him. Noticing her, he put on a somewhat fake smile.

"Jo! Your bossy attitude and cutthroat attitude made things interesting last season!"

"Scott! Your villainy and manipulation last season stirred up so much drama that it carried a lot of the season! Many viewers loved your tactics! Others hated your guts!" Scott closed his eyes and smirked a bit widely.

Zoey noticeably glowered at him and started whispering something to Mike, "We can't let Scott survive too long this season. He'll get rid of any friends we make!"

Mike patted her shoulder as he glanced over at the smug farm boy, "Don't worry, Zo. I'm sure people won't fall for Scott's schtick this time. He already gave himself away." Zoey nodded, a bit consoled by these words by her boyfriend as she once again scanned the other competitors and wondered who she could trust among them.

"And finally, Lightning! You were one of the strongest contestants last season, even making it to the finale. Your feud with Cameron made for quite some interesting TV!" Lightning waved at the camera with a largely false smile, trying to ignore the incoming humiliation inside of himself at his finale defeat to Cameron.

Chris clapped his hands and gripped the podium tightly, "Now that we have all of the boring stuff out of the way, I think it's time for you to go put your stuff up, make some confessionals, and then report to the cliff for your first challenge!" He laughed maniacally and clapped his left hand on his forehead, "Make sure to play nice with your new teammates everyone! I know how hormonal you teenagers can get."

The contestants glowered at him, but got up and walked towards their cabins.

* * *

**CONFESSIONAL:**

**Zoey:** "I'm not that excited to be back. I don't really need the money if I'm being honest. Having Mike around is enough for me," She swooned a bit. "I haven't gotten to see him much since we left the Island after last season's finale, but we've face-timed a lot! And I'm so excited to make some new friends this season! I just hope that they don't all hate me," She tapped her chin in thought, "So many of them were villains or just plain mean in the past. I wonder who I could even trust here?"

 **Mike:** "Am I excited to be back? Not really. I had so many problems when I was here before. Really my only saving graces were Zoey and Cameron. Maybe Brick; he did save my life after all. But I'm determined to show everyone that Multiple Mike isn't just his multiples! Now that I'm in control of my mind, I'm going to show that I'm just fine as Mike."

 **Alejandro:** "After Total Drama World Tour, it took me a long while to recover from all of the damage that the lava did to my body and also the damage that Heather did to my heart." The Latino sighed as he traced one of the horrific burn scars on his bicep. "I'm not exactly excited to be here. I honestly just wanted to be left alone. But I suppose that if I could prove myself better than Heather and also maybe apologize to some of the others for what I did to them, I would be happier." At this thought, he puts his index finger onto his chin, "Although 5 million dollars would be pretty nice too," he muttered to himself.

 **Eva:** "If Chris thinks that he's going to bait me into freaking out and getting voted off, he can think again," She punched a hole through the confessional wall before taking a deep breath and calming down. "I've gotten my anger under control and I'm not going so early again, GOT IT!"

* * *

 _(Killer Sharks Cabin_ : _Boys Side)_

"Yo Trent, wanna bunk with me," Cody asked Trent enthusiastically, glad that he had at least one friend with him in the cabin.

Trent glanced at the other guys, realizing he either didn't know them that well or didn't like them. He glanced back at Cody and gave a smile, "Sure thing bro, how do you feel about being back here?"

Cody began putting his stuff down and unpacking on one of the bunks as he pondered the question, "Well, I'm kinda glad to be here actually."

Trent raised any eyebrow as he threw his bag on the top bunk, "You're glad to be back for another round of torture? What gives?" He seems to gain a thought about why, "Is it because you're away from Sierra this time?"

Cody flinched at the name, turning around the face Trent, "I am glad to be away from her. Maybe now I can finally prove that I'm more than just a horndog and that I can stand up for myself." With this, he turned away once again. Trent seemed to study him for a moment, but he decided not to pry. Cody would tell him more if he wanted to. With a sigh, he began unpacking too.

Ezekiel watched the interaction from the sidelines, raising any eyebrow at the end. He didn't really know anyone here that well, he reasoned. But he had always thought that Cody and Trent were pretty enthusiastic and nice guys. He wondered what had changed that, whether this show destroyed everyone on it. He was suddenly broken out of his thoughts as a hand clapped down onto his shoulder. He craned his head to his left to glance into a pair of emerald green eyes that he remembered quite well.

"Amigo! Surely you must remember me from that wretched season in the plane! Would you like to bunk with me?"

Ezekiel looked at him wordlessly for a moment, trying to compute why Alejandro of all people would be nice to him. Deciding to ignore his bad feelings, he gave a small smile, "Sure thing, eh." With that, he and Alejandro claimed a bunk and began unpacking next to one another, Ezekiel getting the bottom and Alejandro claiming the top after an awkward game of rock-paper-scissors.

Scott arrived at the cabin next, looking inside first before finally stepping in. He noticed the strange bromances going on and raised an eyebrow, wanting to say something snarky but also deciding that irritating his teammates at their first meeting might be a bad move. He approached Brick, the only other guy in the cabin at that moment.

Scott sat down on one of the two free bunk beds, "So Brick-house, wanna bunk with the Scottmeister?"

Brick turned around, holding a pair of shiny black boots in one hand a a small tube of shoe shine in the other. His eyes narrowed a bit when he saw the farm boy on the bunk bed next to him.

"I would never think of bunking with one as dishonorable as yourself, soldier." With this, Brick turned around and began shining his shoes once again. Scott groaned and fell back on the bed dramatically.

During this timeframe, Mike made his way back from the confessional and into the cabin, looking around first and then smiling as he walked over to Brick. "Hey Brick! Great to see you again, man," he and Brick did a special handshake and Brick's hand clapped Mike's scrawny shoulder.

"Hey there, Mike. Haven't seen you since last season! Wanna bunk together?"

Mike glanced at Scott for a moment, and then looked back to Brick, nodding with a gap-toothed smile, "Yeahhhh, I think I would. It's leagues better than sleeping underneath a snake."

With this jab, Mike glared at Scott and Scott glared right back. Muttering to himself about why he even bothered being nice, Scott claimed the lone bunk bed left, unpacking and laying comfortably in his bed as the others made small-talk or unpacked meticulously.

* * *

**CONFESSIONAL:**

**Scott:** Yeesh, I'm stuck here with a bunch of crybabies! I mean, I only did what I had to do to win! And even that plan didn't work out," the farm boy sighed bitterly and looked at the floor of the confessional. "I don't feel bad about what I did. After all, those "nice people" laughed at me when they saw what that shark had done to me! They laughed!" He narrowed his eyes at the camera and crossed his arms, "I'm here to win this time, and nobody is going to stop me. My first targets are going to be multiple Mike and little lonely Zoey." He began laughing evilly until he realized where he was and began coughing as the smell of the confessional's toilet choked him.

 **Alejandro:** "Am I using Ezekiel? Not completely. I do feel a bit of kinship with the poor prairie boy. We both suffered tremendously in World Tour. I feel like we could be genuine friends." His green eyes glint as he added with a grin, "And friends make such good allies, don't they?"

 **Ezekiel:** The prairie boy rubbed his arm a bit and looked embarrassed, "I'm not too keen on trying t'a make friends, eh. Not sure that I can trust Alejandro. Plus, nobody on this sho'ow has ever genuinely liked me. Didn't seem to care at all when I became...what I became." He looked down a bit, his toque bobbing along his head, "The Zeke's main goal is t'a not be the first out, eh! Maybe the fo'olks back home would finally respect me."

* * *

_(Killer Sharks Cabin: Girls Side)_

Leshawna and Gwen walked together into the other side of the Killer Sharks cabin, catching up with each other.

"So girl, you've gotta tell me how things are going between you and punk boy," Leshawna inquired with a smile, cocking her eyebrow a bit, hinting at something.

Gwen let out a rare genuine laugh and elbowed the large sister, "Leshawna! We haven't had done anything big yet, if that's what you're asking. We've just been hanging out every now and then. Duncan's visited my house a few times. We sometimes catch some movies or something like that."

Leshawna looked a bit puzzled at this, "Wait, so your mom lets Duncan come over?"

Gwen chuckled a bit as she placed her bags on a bunk, "No, but my mom supports me and she believes I have the right to make my own decisions."

Leshawna placed her bag on the bed above Gwen's, "Really? Jeez girl, you're lucky to have such a supportive parent. Mine would keep me locked up if they could!" She threw her hands up in the air with this exclamation.

Now, Eva, the only other female Killer Shark, sauntered in. She walked right past Gwen and Leshawna, claiming one of the empty bunks and grunting at them in greeting.

Leshawna and Gwen, now silent, glanced at each other in a bit of a apprehension and then wordlessly began unpacking.

* * *

_(Screaming Bears Cabin: Boys Side)_

Lightning was the first boy inside of the cabin, letting out a whoop and quickly jumping on the top bed of one of the empty bunks. He started rummaging through his stuff, "This is the season that The Lightning is going to strike! Sha-yeah!"

Noah dragged his feet in and rolled his eyes a bit at Lightning's enthusiasm, Harold walking in behind him.

"You seem like a fun guy," Noah sarcastically stated as he walked over to a bunk as far away from Lightning's as possible.

Lightning's gaze grew a bit hard as he looked down at Noah, "You bet the Lightning is a fun guy, smart guy. And no egghead is going to be beating the Lightning ever again!"

Harold looked between the two, a bit torn on what to do about the hostility. On one hand, he had never met Lightning and yet already could tell he wouldn't like him. On the other, he and Noah had never really talked. So he decided to ignore it. Yet he also realized who the other two boys that would be inhabiting the cabin were, so he walked over to Noah's claimed-bunk and set his stuff down on the top of it, "Hey Noah, mind if I bunk with you? I definitely can't bunk with Duncan and Justin is a bit high maintenance."

Noah didn't even glance at the other nerd as he blandly uttered a quick "sure", and Harold smiled a bit as he began unpacking his Magic Steve's camp bag.

Just then, Duncan came sauntering in, holding a black bag emblazoned with a skull. He scanned the room quickly and didn't look too happy with his options of bunk-mates. Justin appeared behind him.

"So I'm stuck with the idiot, pretty boy, egghead, and nerdling this year, huh? Guess I'll be bunking with you, pretty boy," Duncan walked slowly over to the other free bunk, dropping his bag carelessly on the bottom bunk.

Justin looked a bit displeased with this arrangement, but walked over to him anyway and threw his bag up top, "So you and I are cool now, I guess? I mean, now that you don't care about Courtney anymore?"

Duncan scoffed, "No, we aren't "cool". I still don't like you, and I certainly don't trust you after what you pulled during Action. And I want you to know that I'll beat you if you make any moves on Gwen, got it?" Duncan clinched his first instinctively at Justin.

Justin put his hands up in a surrendering fashion, "Hey, hey now, I'm not going to hit on Gwen. I'm much too handsome for her anyway."

Duncan's eyes lit up as he grabbed the front of Justin's shirt and brought his face close to him, growling over the insult.

"Ahhh! Not the face!"

Noah paused a bit as he unpacked, weighing his options here before saying, "Let the model go, Duncan. We're going to need him for the first challenge."

Duncan's angry eyes turned to Noah as he grunted, "Like I care. I don't even want to be here."

Harold pulled his glasses up from their dropping position on his nose as he glared at Duncan from his top-bunk bed, crossing his arms, "You know Duncan, everyone here is tired of your "too cool" attitude. How about you stop acting like such a jerk?"

Lightning cut in here, staring disinterestedly into his bag still, now holding a sports magazine, "Put the pretty boy down, Lightning says. The Lightning is NOT losing the next challenge because of some insult."

Duncan let go of Justin and shoved him away from him, "Alright pretty boy, I'll let you off this time. But don't go insulting Gwen again." Duncan started unpacking now as Justin winked at the camera.

* * *

**CONFESSIONAL:**

**Justin:** "Duncan thinks he's so cool, having made it to the merge in three seasons, but guess what? His attitude is grating on the others' gears now," the male model smiled brilliantly at the camera and posed with his hands on his hips. "I guarantee he'll be gone in no time if I can just keep baiting him. Especially with Courtney on our team. I made the mistake of not making enough moves in Action, and I won't make that mistake again!" He brought down one of his fists onto his outstretched hand.

 **Noah:** "So it's the first hour here, and my idiot teammates are already at each other's throats." He sighed heavily and put his face into his hands, "I'm just here to prove that I'm actually a worthy competitor. I've been thrown out early both times I've competed. That isn't going to happen again. I need some allies, and no matter how much I don't like Justin, I feel like he appreciated me helping him out there." He rubbed his chin, "Maybe I could befriend Harold? He might be a good ally."

 **Lightning:** "The Lightning was humiliated when he lost to that weak bubble-nerd! Everyone at school sha-made fun of him! And Pops lost his championship rings because of the Lightning's weakness!" The football player began to cry a bit weakly into his hands before sniffing and wiping the tears away quickly. He straightened his spine with a glint in his eye, "The Lightning now knows why he lost! He didn't make enough allies and he wasn't competitive enough!" Lightning pushed his fists together, "I refuse to lose again! Pretty boy may not be that useful, but Lightning refuses to get on a losing streak again!"

* * *

_(Screaming Bears Cabin: Girls Side)_

Heather walked into the cabin, followed closely by Courtney and Lindsay. When she stepped inside, she turned around to them and clapped her hands together in a cheerful way, "So! Who wants to bunk with me? Lindsay? Courtney?"

Courtney grumbled at Heather, "No way am I bunking with you, Heather. You're like cyanide; I got way too much of a dosage of you back in World Tour." The CIT then walked over to one of the empty bunks and set her bags down, beginning to unpack.

Heather's eye twitched at the insult but her face remained cheerful, "Lindsay? Will you bunk with me?"

Lindsay seemed to scratch her forehead nervously and confusedly, "No thanks, Heather. I think I'll be bunking with Courtney over there. She seems nice." With this, Lindsay walked over to a surprised Courtney, who stepped aside as the blonde bombshell threw her bag onto the top bunk.

Heather nearly blew up right there at being snubbed twice, "UUUUGGGGHHH! Fine! What about you, new girl?!"

Zoey was walking in as Heather threw her tantrum, and seemed nervous at being called out by the famous queen bee. She laughed nervously, "Uuuuuuhhhhhhhh—"

Jo barged in suddenly, pushing Zoey out of the doorway with her enormous grey gym bag, "Hey! Redhead! Get out of the way!"

Zoey coughed a bit from the side, "Sorry Jo. Heather here was just asking to bunk with me."

Jo raised a questioning eyebrow and glanced over at Heather, who looked frustrated at being interrupted. She then looked back to Zoey, holding out a consoling hand, "Don't feel like bunking with Queen Bitch over there. Wanna bunk with me, Red?"

Zoey didn't look too pleased with this arrangement either. She had hoped for Lindsay, but a quick glance confirmed that Lindsay and Courtney were already bunking together.

"But Jo, you're always mean to me."

Jo rolled her eyes a bit, but relented, "Alright, I'll try to keep my temper in check a bit more. You wanna bunk together or not?"

Zoey took her hand reluctantly and smiled in a friendly way, "Alright, friend! Let's get to unpacking!"

As Jo and Zoey set their bags down on their bunk, Heather cursed under their breath at her lack of allies.

* * *

**CONFESSIONAL:**

**Courtney:** "Alright, so my fans are probably wondering why I came back to this crappy show? It's because I need to repair my reputation. I might've let my anger get the better of me a bit in the past."

She paused as she heard frantic laughing outside of the confessional, "A bit? Hahahahahahaha!"

She cursed loudly and banged against the wall, "Heyyy! This is supposed to be private!" She then took a deep breath and looked back at the camera as the laughing outside faded, "I figured I could start repairing my image by making it far into the game and maybe making some friendly allies. I'm thinking Lindsay and that new girl Zoey might be worthwhile. The rest of my team is kinda hopeless."

 **Lindsay:** "So, like, I know that I've messed up so many times before," Lindsay confessed with her arms sunken to her sides, "But I've been studying lately! I've even started remembering peoples' names!" At this, Lindsay pumped her fists into the air and let out a triumphant squeal. "Tyler and I broke up after World Tour, but things have been fine since." Lindsay's nose sniffed a bit loudly, "And I figured that I might finally be able to win! Wouldn't it be great? Me, a winner? My sisters would be like soooo jealous!"

 **Heather:** "Uuuggggghhhh! I'm back here with no allies and a team full of complete light-weights! I mean, I guess that Duncan, Harold, and Courtney are somewhat useful, but they won't listen to me! I'm going to need to take the reins of the team if we're going to ever win any challenges!" Heather sighed a bit, rubbing her arm, "I put SO much effort into World Tour, only to finally win and yet lose the prize money a-a-and ..." She seemed distracted for a moment before shaking her head, looking determinedly at the camera, "I am not letting that happen to me again!"

* * *

_(The Famous Cliff at Camp Wawanakwa that Overlooks the Campgrounds)_

Chris stands in front of both teams at the top of the famous cliff on the island, holding a megaphone and standing next to Chef Hatchet, who is grinning menacingly at the contestants. Chris and Chef share a quick evil glance before the host puts his lips to the megaphone and starts announcing the challenge, "Welcome teams to the first challenge of Total Drama Wars! You will be one-by-one, diving off of this cliff right here into the waters below!" Chris paused and smiled widely as some of the contestants looked a bit scared about this.

"Uhhh, Chris, this water wouldn't happen to be s-shark infested would it?" Scott hesitatingly questioned the host, wrapping his pale arms around himself and looking very much frightened at the idea.

Chris grinned slyly, "Well, if there weren't sharks down there, then it wouldn't be a challenge now would it? Don't worry though, the sharks there now are not mutated, so you won't have to be worrying about Fang or anything."

"Each team will have one member dive down there and search for a key in the wreckage. Once you get a key, you run to shore. Each team will have a designated baby carriage, which one of their members will use to push the divers across the forest and over to our newly-installed bathroom and shower trailer!"

The teens gasped. W-was Chris being generous to them for once?

Leshawna wasn't buying it, "So you're saying that the winners will have the correct key and will be the first to open the trailer?"

Chris grinned genuinely, "Yep, and, as a reward, the winning team that opens the trailer will have access to it for the entirety of the competition! No more slumming it!"

As some of the contestants cheered and fire started burning in the eyes of some determined others, Noah had a thought, "Wait, but I thought you said that there would be a reward/immunity challenge to follow up every main challenge?"

Chris seemed to lose his buzz and he scowled a bit and threw his arms up, "What the heck, Noah! I was hoping you guys had forgotten about that!"

Noah smirked at him in reply.

Chris fumed as Chef laughed like a hyena behind him at the host's baby rage, "I'll announce the follow-up after you kids complete this challenge! Now get to it! Every team needs to designate a carriage-pusher and then develop an order of divers!"

Chef clapped a hand on the host's back, "Uhhh, Chris man, we're due for a commercial break."

Chris looked up at the burly man as the words sank in. He checked his watch frantically, "Oh darn," he cried, "My new watch isn't working!"

Chef rolled his eyes as the host began fiddling with his new watch.

The big cook then turned toward the camera as it closed-in on his face, "So this is the first episode of Total Drama Wars. We met our 20 idiotic teenage contestants and saw how insecure and greedy they are."

Chef rolled his eyes and kept speaking bluntly as the contestants protested, " They've just been given their first challenge. When we return, you'll be watching them as they dive into the water below, searching for one key among many that will unlock the new-and-improved bathroom and shower trailer, which the winning team will get for the rest of the season! I personally don't think they deserve it. Who will prove themselves strong? Can anyone trust each other? When will Chris stop whining about his watch so that I don't have to do his dumb job anymore? Stay tuned to find out on Total Drama Wars!"

* * *

**The Killer Sharks: Alejandro, Scott, Cody, Trent, Ezekiel, Mike, Brick, Leshawna, Eva, and Gwen**

**The Screaming Bears: Lightning, Heather, Zoey, Courtney, Duncan, Justin, Noah, Lindsay, Jo, and Harold**

* * *

**So what do you think? I encourage reviews and any input that you viewers would like to give to me.**

**How well do you think I wrote the characters?**

**Who do you think will win the next challenge?**

**What did you think of the interactions? Any favorites yet? Speculation?**

**Who will be the first one eliminated?**

**This is WhatTheHeck23 signing off!**


	2. Diving Into Madness (Episode 1 Part 2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chris and Chef give the campers their first challenge: Cliff-Diving into shark-infested waters! Who will surface with the correct key to win the challenge? Which team will win? And what will the follow-up challenge be?

**Disclaimer: I do not own Total Drama. These characters and this show is owned by FreshTV and the parent company of the Total Drama cartoon series. This is also the first FanFiction that I've ever written, so please be fair in your reviews.**

_Also, I encourage your reviews, if you have anything to say about the chapter or just to me in general._

**( P.P.S. Who do you guys think will be eliminated next? Who do you think will play big roles as the story continues? And which characters are you particularly liking?)**

**To Reviewer Princess: I'm also sorry about that. Bridgette is one of my favorites but she just isn't an All-Star and she isn't much easy to write without Geoff.**

**To Reviewer Guest: Thanks for the compliment on the first chapter. Hopefully you'll keep reading :) Ezekiel isn't going to be made into a perfect character for this story, but wouldn't it be a bit cruel for me to just kick him off first again lol? You'll have to read to find out if I'm that cruel, I guess.**

**Any Reviews will be answered up here!**

* * *

**Day 1, Part 2: Diving Into Madness**

_(At the Cliffside of Wawanakwa Island where we last left our contestants)_

The face of Chris McLean is seen as the camera pans outward to show the two teams standing on the steep cliff overlooking the water below, full of ravenous sharks.

"And we're back! After some unfortunate watch trouble and some whining by our contestants, who arrived earlier today, I have assigned them into two teams: The Killer Sharks and The Screaming Bears!" The host shined a bright smile at the camera as his hand motioned to the 20 contestants. Some of them groaned and complained about the recap while others, wanting to look good, smiled and waved at the camera.

"They'll be jumping off of this cliff right here," the host motioned to the cliffside, "searching for one key among many in the shark-infested waters below. One of their teammates will push them through the forest in a baby carriage to see whether their key is the one that unlocks the prize for this challenge!"

Chef interrupted him, "Chris man, I'm getting tired of standing here. Let's just get down to our spot on the beach and watch these whiners do the challenge."

Chris raised an eyebrow at his co-host, "I thought you were in the Army, Chef? Can't stand to be kept waiting for just a bit longer, eh?" The host was now openly mocking the big man, as was obvious from his growing smirk.

Chef just growled and threw the smug host over his shoulder, walking back to the Jeep that they had rode up here in. Before throwing the host into the Jeep, he shot a measured glare at the contestants.

"Y'all kids decide quickly who is gonna be pushing those carriages down there. I don't like to be kept waiting."

Chris complained about how Chef always gets in a bad mood when a new season begins as the contestants gave their verdicts: Scott, due to his fear of sharks, would be pushing the carriage for the Killer Sharks and Lightning, due to his immense strength and stamina, would push the carriage for the Screaming Bears.

Chris, regaining his composure, allowed Scott and Lightning into the backseat of the Jeep as he shot a peace sign to the others, "Hope you all survive! Don't take too long! It's a 23-minute show!"

With that statement, Chef Hatchet drove the Jeep down the cliff. The opposing teams now needed to determine who their first divers would be.

* * *

_(Back at The Beach)_

Chris and Chef had just dropped Scott and Lightning at the forest clearing nearest to the beach below the cliffside, where their nervous teammates were currently deciding their diving line-ups.

Scott stood there in relief at having escaped diving into the shark-infested waters. He had been terrified of sharks ever since his many run-ins with the mutant shark Fang on TDROTI. He wondered what the authorities had done to that wretched thing when the island entered quarantine. Eh, better not to think about such painful memories, he reasoned.

At the moment, Scott's train-of-thought was interrupted by Chef Hatchet. The former-army soldier placed a red baby carriage in front of Scott, grunting at him as if to explain something. The big burly man then went back to his Jeep, grabbing another baby carriage, this one green, and dropped it in front of Lightning. Scott had almost forgotten that the other boy was there with how uncharacteristically quiet he was being.

As Chris and Chef retreated over to the beach to watch the contest, Chris mockingly saluted the two boys, giving them a smirk and walking off to enjoy his relaxation session.

Once they were gone, an awakened silence permeated the atmosphere between Scott and Lightning. The two hadn't really been the best of friends before.

After a few minutes of this, Scott began whistling and tapping his foot. He checked his wrist in a moment of impatience, forgetting that he didn't wear a watch. He looked back up in annoyance only to see Lightning's eyes dart away from him quickly.

"Hey meathead, think those ladies are gonna take all day running from the sharks?"

Lightning seemed to ignore Scott, huffing a bit. Scott seemed confused at this. He knew that the others didn't like him, but he had never done anything to Lightning in particular. And anyone who had known Lightning last season would testify to the fact that the athlete would seldom shut up.

He decided to mock him a bit to get his attention, because Scott hated to be ignored. It reminded him of his family's farm, really. His pappy hanging out with the animals, seeming to care more about them than he did his grandson. His eyebrows furrowed a bit angrily at the thought.

"Hey meathead! Did getting hit by lightning make you deaf as well?"

Lightning's eyes met the gray orbs of Scott, seeming to bite into him. Scott seemed uninterested in that, though. The farm boy examined his messy fingernails in a prim manner as he taunted him, "Seems you are smart enough to comprehend speech. Good. Maybe you'll prove more of a challenge for me this time." Scott now had another goal in talking to Lightning: if he could get the athlete into one of his rages, he could throw him off of his game just as Cameron had done before him.

Lightning growled a bit before facing the other way, "Lightning don't talk to challenge-throwing losers, dirt boy. And he would suggest that you stay out of the way. Because NOBODY can outrun the Lightning!" At this, Lightning's ego started to leak out of his body majorly, causing him to do his famous star stance, his eyes closed in smug victory.

Scott just grimaced at the familiar sight. His attempts to provoke Lightning had failed. And now he had to listen to the football star brag about himself. God, why him?

* * *

The Killer Sharks didn't have to wait for too long before one of them decided to go first.

"I can't believe you all let farm boy push the stupid carriage over me," Eva muttered bitterly, a dark look spreading across her face.

Alejandro quickly tried to calm her down by placing one of his hands on her left shoulder, "Now, now amiga. Scott is deathly afraid of sharks. We would've been cruel teammates to make him dive." His glittering green eyes tried to use all of their power and charm to convince the fitness buff to let it go.

Eva growled threateningly at him for placing his hand on her, but didn't snap her teeth at the hand due to some of her previous anger management lessons. "He should've gotten over it. I doubt that scrawny manipulator is going to be able to push all of us across the island before that other muscle-head can," she said, referring to Lightning.

Gwen scowled at this, "You know Eva, the decision was already made. Why don't YOU stop whining and just dive first?"

Leshawna nodded her head and agreed, "You know Eva, if you keep causin' a stink over this, you might just find yourself eliminated if we lose." The large sister put her hands on her hips, "That attitude of yours is exactly what sunk you last time you were here."

Eva's hands looked almost red as she clenched her fists. "Fine," she managed to say as she gritted her teeth.

Ezekiel, who was standing next to Cody and Trent, whispered to them, "Eva really scares me, eh. Are we sure she's even a girl?"

Cody looked frighteningly at him with wide eyes, "Dude, don't ever say that out loud. She might hear you."

Trent nodded hastily in agreement.

* * *

Heather gathered in the middle of the Screaming Bears huddle, narrowing her eyes as she scanned her teammates authoritatively.

"Alright, I say Noah or Harold should go first. We can't afford to have such weak people swimming down there at the end of the challenge," Heather snobbishly stated as some others started glaring at her.

"And just who do you think you are to be insulting us," Harold defiantly questioned. "In case you forgot Heather, I won quite a few challenges in Island and Action." He crossed his arms.

"Yeah, who do you think you are?! Claiming leadership like that! I should be the leader!" Jo slipped into the conversation quite angrily.

Noah sighed and slapped his forehead. He could see where this was going.

Duncan snorted, "Please Harold, look at those string bean arms of yours. You couldn't swim quickly if your life depended on it."

Harold glared at him, "Well at least I'm not a slime ball who cheated on my girlfriend."

At this, Courtney interjected furiously, "Don't you dare bring that up! Don't you dare!" She started to slap-fight with Harold as the other continued arguing viciously.

Zoey and Lindsay looked a bit uncomfortable there on the sidelines as their other teammates fought. Heather and Jo were getting physical, shoving each other as they screamed insults. Duncan was now facing the wrath of Courtney, who had thrown Harold onto the ground. Harold grabbed Duncan's leg, tripping him as the delinquent pulled Courtney down with him.

Noah sighed in exasperation, "Is it too late to switch teams?"

He then glanced to his side at Justin, "So do you want to break it up, Anti-Me? Or do I have to?" He awaited the model's answer patiently while starting to wish that he was back at home.

Justin stared at him for a moment, seeming to weigh his options, "Well, my body is a temple, but I do highly doubt a scrawny stick like you could do anything about that," he motioned at the tussle going on.

"So I guess I'll do it. I'm NOT losing this challenge to them," he pointed over at the group of Killer Sharks, who looked to be talking to an angry Eva.

Justin stepped in front of the battling teenagers, clearing his throat, "Ladies, ladies. You're all pretty."

Nobody payed him any attention. He grew a frustrated look on his face as he tore his shirt off, flexing his pecks at them now with a self-satisfied smile, "How about this, eh? Surely we can all work something out, like you all doing whatever I say."

When he failed to catch any attention, he narrowed his eyes and screamed bloody murder.

Immediately, the group fell silent, some still on the ground and some still standing, but all looking at the male model.

At this point, Noah walked up next to Justin, "I hate to break up a great and intelligent conversation over here, but we need to start the challenge. The Sharks over there have Eva about to jump off of the cliff." The cynical bookworm pointed a lazy finger at Eva, who could be seen getting a running start before diving off of the cliff with a war-cry.

Jo realized this was her chance. Picking up the relatively scrawny and struggling Heather, she threw her off of the cliff down into the water. As she looked down at the falling queen bee, she felt her teammates' eyes on her. She turned around and chuckled sheepishly, "Well, somebody had to make the decision. And I didn't see anyone else contributing."

* * *

**CONFESSIONAL:**

**Jo:** "Alright, so I know that tossing the "queen" off of the cliff may have seemed a bit harsh, but she was the closest to me and we couldn't let the Sharks get ahead!" She held her head up high and motioned to herself proudly, "They needed a leader to make a quick decision."

 **Harold:** "GOSH! Being scrawny doesn't mean that I'm a weak little twig! I've proven myself plenty on this show and yet I never get any respect." Harold had a bitter look on his face that quickly dissipated as he pondered something else. "You know, I wonder if Cody or Noah brought any games and stuff. I could really use a cool-down after that fight with Duncan and Courtney." Harold smiled sheepishly at the camera as he flexed his scrawny, non-existent bicep.

 **Courtney:** "HOW DARE HAROLD UTTER SUCH TERRIBLE WORDS FROM HIS TRAITOROUS LIPS! AND HOW DARE THAT OGRE HAVE THE NERVE TO COME BACK HERE—" (We would like to show you it all, but she rambled for quite awhile)

 **Noah:** The egghead, carrying a signature hardback book of his, sighed as he sat down in the confessional, "This is just ridiculous. I've seen more civil people in COD chats." He looked at the camera puzzlingly, "I am a bit surprised that Justin was so willing to help. Gotta be weary of such behavior from the Anti-Me. He's gotta be up to something."

 **Justin:** The male model is staring at and admiring his reflection in the camera, "Screaming always works when you're trying to get someone's attention. Learned that in all of the photo shoots I've done," he chuckled.

* * *

_(Down in the Water Below)_

As Eva met the water, she quickly found herself shielding her eyes at the numerous glistening gold and silver keys at the bottom of the lake. She looked frantically to her sides and didn't see any sharks around her yet. Deciding to be quick about it, considering that it was random, she grabbed a large gold key off a rock and swam over to the shore as quickly as a steam engine.

Heather was a bit less tactful. When she fell, back-first, into the water, she immediately swam up to the surface and gasped for air. Then she swung her first into the air as she glared up at the cliffside, "You're going to pay when I get back up there, new girl!"

Suddenly, Heather froze as she felt something tap her on the back. When she turned around slowly, a shark, head above water and with a large and toothy smile, was behind her, its fin waving to her mockingly. The queen bee screamed and began swimming around in random patterns to escape the predator as it gave chase.

* * *

_(The Beach Onshore)_

Chris and Chef Hatchet are seen lounging on colorful beach chairs, the host's chair sporting the Canadian flag but with a blue background and the cook's chair featuring camo designs with a pony in the corner. Both have their hands supporting their heads as they stretch out in the nice autumn sun.

Chris flipped his sunglasses up as he felt a bit of water splash onto him, "Hey, what the heck?! I'm trying to re-lax here." His eyes focus on the figure in front of him and he sees Eva, soaked in water, holding a giant golden key in front of him. The fitness buff looked somewhat angrily and impatiently at the host, "So where the heck is my teammate with the carriage?!"

Chris looked a bit intimidated for a moment before he managed to sputter out, "uh-uh-uh, Scott is over there near the forest clearing waiting for you," the host pointed a bit shakily to the area behind him. Luckily, Eva started jogging towards the area he pointed at.

Chris sighed in relief as as she left, until he heard muffled laughter next to him. Remembering where he was, the host grumbled as he got back into a relaxing position on his chair, "Oh, shut up Chef."

Chef Hatchet, with one of his hands on his mouth trying to contain his gleeful chuckling, retorted back playfully, "Its a good thing she's gone, Chris. You looked like you were scared for a moment there. God forbid I had to step in!" With this joke, the cook began letting out uncontrollable laughter as Chris frowned and tried to ignore him.

They were both interrupted in their endeavors when a clown-looking, soaked figure appeared in front of them. Chris and Chef both let out wild screams and fell onto the beach sand below them.

"Oh shut up! Just tell me where my carriage is," the clown figure, now identified as Heather snapped.

Chris, now recovered from his fall, just looked wordlessly at Heather and pointed to the same place where he directed Eva. Heather trudged off as he and Chef stared at her disappearing in the distance.

After one long moment, Chef looked at Chris and began laughing again, "Seems like mean girl there forgot that makeup doesn't do too well in water!" The burly man slapped his knee as Chris joined in.

* * *

_(In The Forest)_

Scott struggled to push the baby carriage with the very muscular and heavy Eva. They had only been running for 5 minutes and already the farm boy seemed tuckered out. Eva had noticed this and was starting to get very impatient with him. She had been making snide comments at him the whole time. That is, until she saw Lightning and Heather barrel past them. Then she had flown off the handle.

"You weakling! Why would you want to volunteer for this if you're too weak to do it?!" Eva practically screamed at him in frustration.

Scott moaned in exhaustion, "Because this is better than taking my chance with those ravenous s-sh-SHARKS!"

Eva grabbed the front of his wife beater shirt and brought him very close to her face. She looked at him very intensely, her amber eyes seeming to be at burning pressure, "YOU. WILL. GET. ME. TO. THE. TRAILER. FAST FARM BOY! FAST!" With this, she dropped him and, sweating profusely, he began throwing his legs as fast as he could, almost losing the feeling in them.

* * *

**CONFESSIONAL:**

**Eva:** The normally stoic fitness buff is chuckling nervously, with strands of her hair messily jutting out into her forehead as she looked at the camera with wide eyes. "Haha, maybe I was a bit harsh on farm boy back there. I'm really trying to work on my temper, but it gets really hard when I'm feeling all competitive. Hopefully, I'll get the chance to apologize to him later. Especially if we end up losing. Don't want him voting me off."

 **Scott:** He is looking unimpressedly at the camera, "Yeah, fitness gorilla is on my list now. NOBODY bosses ol' Scotty around like that," he starts laughing and then his eyes suddenly fly open at what he said as he desperately pleas to the camera, "Wait! Pappy! I didn't mean it!"

* * *

_(Back On The Cliffside)_

Cody looked down the cliffside hesitantly, looking back at his teammates in a pleading manner.

The tech geek started stuttering nervously, "Me?! Those sharks'll eat me up like a fruit roll!"

Gwen rolled her eyes, "Listen Cody, I've already gone. So has Leshawna and so has Eva. We all made it back alive. You've got nothing to be afraid of."

As his other teammates tried to reassure him, Trent walked up to him and put his hand on his shoulder in a friendly squeeze. Cody looked over at him, fear in his eyes.

"Listen buddy, I know that you're scared. But everyone who has went into that water so far has come out. Even Harold over there, and he's scrawnier than you," Trent pointed over at the redhead nerd on the other team.

"You're going to be fine. Just get in and out as quickly as you can."

Cody seemed to calm down at this, but then noticed that Trent had both of his arms on Cody's shoulders.

"H-hey Trent, what are you doing?"

Trent smiled genuinely at him, "I'm helping you out, Cody. That's what friends do," Trent then proceeded to push back onto the tech geek, hurtling Cody off of the cliffside.

As he heard Cody scream all the way down and then hit the water, Trent turned back from the cliff, shrugged his shoulders at his stunned teammates, and smiled, "Hey, he wouldn't have ever jumped on his own."

* * *

**CONFESSIONAL:**

**Mike:** His jaw hanging open, Mike just stared at the camera, "Yeesh, I'll have to be careful if I become friends with Trent."

 **Trent:** He leans over in a relaxed sort of way, looking somewhat into the camera, "What can I say? That's what my uncle did to me when I was learning to swim," the musician's eye went to the ceiling in thought, "The guy comforted me and then pushed me into our home pool. I thought the same might work for Cody. The guy hasn't quite been that enthusiastic whenever our band toured hotel pools. Something must've happened to him in season 3."

 **Cody:** Cody is soaking wet and shivering slightly, his thin arms draped around his sides, "I know that I seemed like a wuss back there." He sighed, showing his signature tooth-gap, "After I had that run-in with sharks in the Hawaiian challenge in World Tour, I've been a bit scared of water."

* * *

_(Back at The Forest)_

Scott was much happier pushing the scrawny Cody around the forest. Finally, his arms were being given some kind of reprieve. The two boys stayed largely silent as Scott pushed the geek, mostly because Cody was still recovering from being chased by man-eating sharks and because Scott was so out-of-breath.

They pulled up on the trailer they needed to unlock, Scott stopping abruptly and clutching his knees as he gasped, "Go! Try your key out!"

Cody jumped out of the carriage and tried his silver key to the trailer's lock. There was no click. After sighing disappointedly, he jumped back into the baby carriage. Scott, almost falling over, started pushing Cody back to the start of the forest.

As Scott and Cody left the trailer, Lightning rolled his carriage carrying Duncan in, stopping his brisk run right in front of the trailer.

Duncan, after trying his blue key, which he had picked for its special color, found that it didn't fit the trailer either. "Uggghhhh. This challenge is stupid!"

The punk crossed his arms and jumped back into the carriage as Lightning gave a battle cheer, "Sha-Lightning's team will be the ones to open that trailer!"

* * *

_(On The Beach)_

A rather spiffily-dress butler in a suit is shown pouring a icy pitcher of lemonade into a drink. The camera pans out to reveal that the man holding the glass is none other than Chris Maclean, who gives it a sip afterwards as the butler retreats back near the campgrounds.

"Ahhhh, this is the life, Chef my man. This is the life," the host laid back in his chair as he watched Alejandro and Courtney jump off the cliff. His eyes followed their bodies as they met flew downwards into the water with a big splash.

Chef sipped his lemonade next to Chris and then checked his watch, "Chris man, those kids are taking a bit long to find the right key. We still gotta do the follow-up challenge afterwards! And I need to get back to my trailer by 9 to catch the Golden Girls rerun."

Chris glanced at the cook strangely for a moment as Chef realized what he had said, "I-I meant the M.O.S.H rerun!"

Chris happily laughed, "Of course you did, Chef! Of course you did!" The host then squinted at his now-functional Rolex.

"You're right though. They are taking a bit longer than I expected. Perhaps I should give them some encouragement."

At this, the host took his megaphone out from underneath his chair as Alejandro and Courtney both washed up onshore, him sporting a gold key and her sporting a silver one. He then pointed said megaphone at the cliffside and yelled, "HEYYYY CAMPERS! YOU NEED TO GET A MOVE ON IT! THERE IS STILL ANOTHER CHALLENGE AFTER THIS ONE, NEED I REMIND YOU?!"

He then calmly put the megaphone down as the soaked and non-soaked campers atop the cliff held their bleeding ears and grumbled.

* * *

_(The Cliffside)_

For the Sharks, Mike was now at the front of the diving line, looking a bit nervously at the edge of the cliff. This reminded him of climbing up Mount Looming Tragedy.

Suddenly, his eyes shifted to the side as a hand clasped his. Standing next to him was Zoey, his girlfriend. He smiled a toothy grin at her.

She rubbed his hand in her own, "Mike, if you're too scared to do this, you could always let Svetlana or Vito take care of it for you," she reminded him as she looked at his stressed-out face.

Hurt flashed upon his face for a moment before he fake chuckled at her, "Nahhhh, let's not get them involved in this. I can do it," he gripped her hand lovingly, "As long as I'm with you."

Their teammates watched as the lovebirds jumped off of the cliff together, some of them skeptical at the inter-team dating. Rather, "some of them" means Courtney and Heather.

"How dare she jump with that boy on the other team! Is she trying to make us lose?" Heather stomped her foot, still looking like a clown with her running makeup.

"I never thought I'd agree with Heather, but she's right! If we're too friendly with the other team, they might take advantage of it," Courtney's eyes mostly centered on Alejandro as she clenched her fists.

Duncan started laughing at this, wiping a bead of sweat off of his forehead with the back of his hand as he laid down on the grass, "You two are just jealous that twig and redhead over there are in a happy relationship and you aren't! I happen to know how it feels," Duncan waved at Gwen and shot her a one-sided smirk.

* * *

**CONFESSIONAL:**

**Duncan:** "Yeah, it's a bummer that Gwen is on the other team while I'm stuck with pole-up-her-butt and queen high school, but I figure that there will be plenty of time to hang out with her after the challenges," the punk started wiggling his unibrow.

 **Mike:** He looked conflicted as he glanced at the floor, "Alright, so I might get just a little bit defensive when my personalities are brought up now. It's because they caused me so much trouble in the past!" He sighs and looks up, "Now that I'm in charge of my brain, I've been actively suppressing them. I don't let them come out that often anymore. I'm just trying to be the normal guy that Zoey deserves."

* * *

Mike hit the water with a loud crack, Zoey swan-diving in only moments later. The two both surfaced together, looking around wildly. Things were a lot different when you were actually down here.

Zoey spotted Chris on the beach as he waved at them and pointed to something behind them. Mike gasped as he yelled to Zoey, "S-s-s-shark!"

Zoey's eyes flashed protectively as Mike forcibly gasped again, his face becoming scrunched up and one of his eyes closing. Mike floated in the water as Zoey jumped into action, hopping agilely onto the shark's back and wrestling it by holding its fin.

Mike, now Chester, noticed he was standing in the water and began loudly complaining about it, "Dang fool, kids! Giving me control in the worst of situations!" The old man kept grumbling to himself and watching Zoey handle the shark as Chris noticed the situation, grabbing his megaphone and announcing, "Chester! You need to grab one of those keys in the lake and swim onshore!"

Chester held his left hand to his ear as he grumpily listened to the host.

"Why should I do that?! I'm already all wet. Back in my day, people didn't do such ridiculous stunts for television." He crossed his arms and closed his eye stubbornly when Zoey resurfaced, gasping from her fight with the shark and holding two gold keys.

She smiled sheepishly at Chester as she offered him a hand, "C'mon Chester, I'll get you back to shore."

Chester gave her a deep frown but accepted her small hand, paddling somewhat slowly back to shore.

* * *

_(The Forest)_

Lighting pushed Zoey through the forest, finally seeming to be running out of energy. He stopped briefly by a tree as he tried to catch his breath. Zoey, who had been quiet for most of this time out of disdain for Lightning, looked a bit worriedly at him as he seemed to almost gag a bit.

"L-Lightning? Are you ok?"

Lightning regained his composure and a steely hint of determination re-entered his eyes as he began pushing the carriage again. "There is no problem with Lightning! He just finds it a bit harder to maintain endurance after that toxic barrel trick from last season's finale!"

Zoey thought back to the finale. She remembered vaguely how Cameron had won in the end by making Lightning magnetically attract a bunch of the toxic barrels. She then gasped as the realized something, "You mean that the toxic waste had that effect on your body," she asked a bit worriedly now, her eyebrows drifting downwards.

Lightning didn't even spare a glance towards her as they arrived at the trailer, just in time to see Scott and Mike taking off, arguing about Scott's treatment of Zoey last year and about how he had manipulated Mike's disorder. The two bickered so intensely that Mike didn't even wave back to Zoey as the two carriages passed each other.

Lightning rocked the carriage a bit as he noticed Zoey still sitting in it, "Well? Are you going to try the key, indie girl?"

Zoey got out of the carriage only to find out that her key didn't fit the lock either. Lightning sighed in exasperation as he watched yet another key be revealed as a dud.

"You know Lightning, you didn't answer my question about the toxic waste."

Lightning just glanced down at her, remembering how they had viciously fought while trying to out-stage each other for Larry's flower back in season 4, "Pain don't mean nothing to Lightning. And he suggests that you drop the subject," his eyes narrowing at her as he kept jogging ahead, albeit at a reduced pace.

Zoey just sighed and laid her forehead against the palm of her left hand as Lightning pushed her.

* * *

"Why you're a rotten one! I watched the season over when I returned home! I saw how you tried to frame me and how you successfully framed the others!"

Scott let out a deep sigh as he rolled his eyes. Of course, Brick just haaaaad to be difficult about this. Another teammate that was going to reject his offer of a truce. Fine. Brick wasn't the one he was waiting for anyway.

* * *

_(At The Cliffside)_

Alejandro looked back at his teammates. Brick had just returned, disappointed and soaked in water like those who had come before him. The Latino watched as the brick-house rubbed the back of his neck in shame and walked over to where Trent and Mike were lounging in the grass, gazing over at the cliff and engaging in meaningless small talk.

His strategic mind began turning gears for the first time in forever as he looked over at the opposing team, the Screaming Bears. He saw Heather scowling at Jo and telling the gym girl that she would have to go next if Zoey came back empty-handed.

His green eyes glinted in the afternoon sun. He knew exactly who he could count on for this next dive. Only one of his teammates hadn't dived yet, and Alejandro had made sure of this. With such keen eyes and agile swimming skills, he knew that he had made the right decision to keep this particular trump card in reserve. He walked over to said teammate and sat down next to him.

Ezekiel shot a sideways glance at the former master manipulator, but didn't say anything. He was dreading the moment when he had to dive, knowing that he would certainly find some way to screw things up and get himself on the elimination chopping-block. It always happened, he accepted somberly. He always was eliminated first.

Alejandro, unbeknownst to Ezekiel, was paying very close attention to the other boy, even though he wasn't looking directly at him. He heard him sigh and began working some calculations out in his head. Yes, Ezekiel was a glass-cannon. He had many skills from his time as a feral beast, but didn't have the confidence to use them. Alejandro needed to fix that if his team was going to win.

"So Ezekiel," he began, watching as the other boy's dark gray eyes flew to him. "You're up next for diving, amigo. I'm counting on you to win this game for us right here. There aren't many keys left down there, after all."

Ezekiel's eyes shifted to the ground at this, "I don't kno'o if I can do it, eh. I'm do'omed for failure in these challenges, yo."

The prairie boy threw his head back softly and chuckled, "You kno'o, this is all because 'a that stupid stick, eh. If The Zeke had managed t'a keep hold 'a it in Egypt, he may have never turned into a monster." The ball on his signature blue toque drooped a bit in the strong winds.

Alejandro placed a hand on his shoulder and puffed up his chest, trying to be as motivational as possible as he glanced at Jo getting ready to dive, Zoey trudging back up the cliff with an odd look on her face.

"I know how you feel, mi amigo. Probably more than anyone here. When I was doused in lava in Hawaii and woke up in the hospital, realizing that I had lost the money, the beautiful Heather, and my health, I was very depressed." His green eyes rested on Heather for a brief moment before he turned back to Ezekiel, "But you must keep fighting! Prior failures mean nothing when you have determination on your side!" The Latino puffed his chest and gave a game-winning grin that he used to seduce a-many-a lady in TDWT, including Bridgette and Leshawna.

His speech was interrupted by a loud stomping noise. Both boys turned around swiftly and met the amber eyes of Eva, who looked rather impatient at the moment.

"Alright, Mr. Sexist. You better move now before I throw you off of that cliff. You're gonna need as big of a headstart as you can get." She crossed her arms and kept her signature neutral-but-pissed look.

Ezekiel looked a bit peeved, "Don't call me that, homes. And what do you mean that I need a headstart, eh?"

Eva growled at him and their other teammates took notice of the conflict now, "I mean that you always get voted off first! Now get your ass in gear and go win this challenge for us!"

Some of the others nodded, even though they didn't agree with Eva's particular way of going about it. Alejandro looked at Ezekiel sympathetically.

"Yeah bro, we really need you to get out there. Just think, you might not even get the chance of being booted first if we win right now," Trent tried to look encouraging as his hands snugly squirmed into his pockets, his hair blowing a bit in the breeze.

Leshawna butted in right here, "Yeah white boy! Go show those sharks what you've got!" She smirked at him proudly for a moment, "Go take care of them like you did Heather in Hawaii. They won't have a chance 'gainst you!"

Ezekiel met her eyes for a few brief moments, smiled, and took his place on the cliffside.

* * *

_(The Cliff)_

The Killer Sharks waited until anticipation as Ezekiel, their last diver, jumped off of the cliff. All of them desperately hoped that the prairie boy chose the winning key, because they were not ecstatic at the prospect of diving again. And all of them that had recently gone knew that Scott wouldn't be able to keep pushing people around the forest forever. The poor farm boy was utterly exhausted and he was starting to stink to the high heavens.

Similarly, the Screaming Bears watched their next diver jump. They had all already gone once, as Lightning proved to be running a little bit quicker than Scott. Now, Jo had volunteered for a second go around.

As Ezekiel hit the water, he quickly grabbed his toque with one hand to make sure that it didn't get carried away by any current. When he looked down there, he realized that not many keys were left. His hand scoured over the lake's bottom, finding a few keys just lying on the floor. He was just about to give up and grab a random one like others before him when a few hidden keys caught his eye, seemingly covered by a layer of seaweed. He was about to grab one when his competitor, Jo shoved him out of the way and grabbed one of them, shooting towards the surface.

When Ezekiel, opened his eyes back, he saw that a shark had been chasing her. Shrieking in panic, he grabbed one of the hidden keys and also high-tailed it back to shore.

As Jo jumped into Lightning's carriage and ordered him to start moving, Ezekiel trudged tiredly onto the beach towards Scott, who grinned schemingly as he saw him coming.

* * *

**CONFESSIONAL:**

**Scott:** "Yeah, I need some allies around here. Especially in the old team. Mike and Brick have probably been up there turning some of the others against me the whole time. Zoey probably made it her personal mission," Scott scowled slightly at the name. He then leaned back a bit onto the confessional's back wall, rubbing his hands together. "Ezekiel is the perfect ally for me. I can relate to him because we both grew up on farms. And we can both relate to being seriously traumatized by this show. I've been waiting to get him alone. By the end of this challenge, I'll have him in my pocket hook-line-and sinker."

 **Jo:** "So there I was, stuck with Brightning, who still probably mistakes me for a guy," she crossed her arms as her face pulled into a rather nasty expression. "I knew that my key had to be the genuine one. I knew it from the moment that I saw the freaky animal boy staring at it in that lake. And once I won, my team would have to respect me as their leader."

* * *

After Chef watched Jo and Ezekiel run into forest, he nudged Chris hard with his elbow, "Hey Chris, seems like they found the special keys."

The host groggily awoke from his nap, rubbing his eyes. After a few moments, he processed what Chef had said and stood up from his chair, looking energized for the first time since the challenge started.

"C'mon Chef! We've gotta get over there! I'm not gonna miss the end of the first challenge!" Immediately after this, the host screamed, into his megaphone, of course, up at the contestants on the cliff that the challenge was about to end and took off towards the Jeep that had brought him and Chef there.

* * *

As Lightning panted heavily, he still maintained a bit of a running lead over the scrawny Scott. However, Jo's input was not putting him in a good mood.

"Go on Jockstrap! We've got the winning key!" Jo yelled at him, trying to use her legs to push the carriage forward from the inside.

"Nobody tells the Lightning what to do!"

"..."

"But Lightning will run...because Lightning wants to! Not because you said to!"

Jo rolled her eyes at his idiocy as he kicked it into high gear, picking up the pace tremendously.

Things were fine until he tripped over a vine, sending Jo and the carriage slamming into the hard ground.

Scott and Ezekiel passed them as Lightning scrambled desperately to pick the carriage and Jo up, Jo yelling angrily and shaking her fist at the meathead.

* * *

"So Zeke, what kind of farm did you grow up on," Scott inquired of the prairie boy.

The farm boys had been making small talk ever since Ezekiel had stumbled into Scott's carriage and they had taken off after Lightning and Jo. Ezekiel had been reluctant to talk to the stranger at first, but softened up a bit when Scott had told him what had happened with Fang after Scott was catapulted off of the island.

"Well, my parents like to grow most kind of vegetables, eh. My dad is especially partial to carrots though. Says they're his cash cro'op, h-homie. In the past, we've gotten big yields of potatoes, beets, turnips—," Ezekiel rambled on as Scott started having trouble listening, beginning to feel tired once again from how fast he was running.

"So what's your farm like, eh?"

"Huh, farm?"

Scott blinked a bit as he ran. He wasn't expecting Ezekiel to take interest in his personal life as well. After all, Scott was just using him! Of course, he reasoned, this meant his plan was working so far. That thought brought a smile to the farm boy's face.

"Well, uh, it's just me and my pappy back at the farm. We mainly raise farm animals and livestock." Scott continued telling the other boy about his farm as they closed in on the trailer. Scott's eyes glinted are the sight, until he heard heavy panting coming from behind him, of course.

Scott looked back briefly to see Lightning closing in on him. He panicked and frantically tried to regain his footing as Lightning and Jo crashed into him and Ezekiel, sending them all to the ground in front of the trailers.

The other contestants watched from the left side of the trailer as their teammates crashed painfully into the ground. Some, like Mike and Trent, winced. Others, like Duncan, began laughing.

At that moment, Chris and Chef rolled up in their Jeep. The host quickly jumped out of the passenger seat and walked towards the tangled heap on the ground. Scott, Ezekiel, Jo, and Lightning had been lying there for about 2 minutes at that point.

Chris looked down at them with his hands crossed behind his back, looking interestedly at them, "Alright guys," he cleared his throat, "Go ahead and get up. Let's try both keys to see who here has the right one."

Lightning groaned as he was the first to get up. Looking around at the other contestants, he brushed himself off and stepped back, waiting for Jo, the one with the key, to rise.

As if she was caught in time, Jo got up slowly and groggily. Taking a quick glance at her team, she saw that several of them had their fingers crossed that her key was the correct one. She brought the key out of her hoodie pocket and stared down at it. It was a brilliant green and looked just the right size for the lock.

She stepped two steps forward and inserted her key. It fit perfectly.

Jo grinned heavily as she began turning the key, believing herself the victor. Scott and Ezekiel stared helplessly as they both began getting off of the ground.

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

The key wouldn't turn!

Jo gritted her teeth as her hand, slick with sweat, tried to turn the key. Eventually, it became clear that it just wasn't going to happen. Chris snapped his fingers and Chef put his hand on Jo's shoulder, making her take a step back.

Chris looked rather impatiently at Ezekiel. It took the prairie boy a few seconds to get the hint.

Ezekiel took his key, almost identical to Jo's but with a slightly rounded groove instead of a jagged, square one, and jammed it into the trailer's lock. He turned the key and a click was heard by all nearby.

Ezekiel gawked as the door to the trailer slung open, revealing a luxury bathroom space with brilliant stone tile, a large hot-tube, a large shower with enough space for numerous cleaning products, and a nice counter with space for makeups and soaps.

Chris looked a bit peeved that it was Ezekiel who had won. But he put on his trademark smile, "And the challenge is over! Ezekiel wins it for the Killer Sharks, who will not face elimination tonight and who win access to this trailer for the rest of the season!"

The Killer Sharks cheered loudly, hugging each other and high-fiving. In contrast, the Screaming Bears, still soaked and not getting along that well, groaned. Jo looked furious and Lightning looked rather put-out.

Scott quickly ran a few steps to clap Ezekiel on the back, "You did it, Zeke! Congrats!" Ezekiel still looked surprised at this turn of events, as did many others.

Chris motioned the camera to pan back to him with a simple wave of his hand, "That's a great celebration and all, but we've got a follow-up challenge to do."

The contestants, tired and wet, didn't look too happy about this. Courtney in particular looked like she wanted to protest, "Chris! We're all tired and really wet. And you want us to do another challenge after all of that?"

Chris glanced at Chef, who promptly nodded at the host. The host seemed to ponder something before looking sympathetically at the contestants.

"Hey, if you don't want to compete for immunity/rewards, then you don't have to, but we're still doing the challenge," Chris reasoned while scanning the contestants.

Noah interjected sarcastically, "Alright oh great host, what is our next marvelous challenge?"

Chris craned his head towards the know-it-all and grinned almost sadistically. "Well, you all seem to be just full of energy! Especially you, Noah! So, you'll be running right back up to that cliff you just came from, jumping into the water, and then running back here!"

The contestants started loudly complaining, some of them throwing their hands down to their sides in rage. Chris silenced them all by holding his hand up.

"Hey now, remember what you're getting! The first three members of the Killer Sharks to make it back here will win a luxury meal of their choice! The first two of the Screaming Bears to make it back will win immunity," Chris reminded them, Chef crossing his arms and grumbling about how ungrateful teenagers are.

"Any questions?"

As some of the contestants raised their hands to be called, Chris yelled, "Alright then, start!"

Immediately, some of the contestants bolted off, including Eva, Courtney, Heather, and Alejandro. The rest began jogging slowly back up the cliff after a few resting moments.

Leshawna glared at Noah as they took off running, "You just had to be a smartass, didn't you, turkey?"

Noah just ignored her, but he began noticing that a few of the others, including Gwen and Justin, were also shooting daggers his way. Eh, didn't matter. He wasn't out to win any popularity contests, just the drama contest.

* * *

**CONFESSIONAL:**

**Leshawna:** She huffed a bit as her arms go from her sides to crossed in front of her chest, "Hmmph. That lazy turkey is still a good-for-nothing. Just going around, irritating people and acting above everything. I almost wish I was on his team, just to put his butt into gear." She crossed her left leg over her right as she looked annoyed about Noah.

 **Gwen:** "Alright, so this show is just like how I remembered it," she put two fingers out and used her other hand to point to them, "hostile people and dumb challenges. Sometimes I wonder why I even bother." The goth girl exhaled loudly and rubbed her temples. "I can already tell that I'm going to lose it before the end of this. Mom, if you're listening, start fluffing my pillows now!"

* * *

At the front of the trail of running contestants were Heather and Courtney, who both looked ferociously determined to win immunity.

As she ran, Heather glanced to her side at the panting Courtney, who clearly was already very well past her physical limits but too determined and stubborn to admit it. The queen bee smiled at her, "Hey Courtney. You were great in the challenge earlier."

The mocha-skinned girl kept her eyes trained ahead as she scoffed at Heather's flinsy compliment.

Despite this, Heather continued, "So, I was thinking that you and I make a pretty good team. Remember how well we did together on Team Amazon? I was thinking that maybe you could help me vote off Jo tonight," Heather asked sweetly, trying to butter Courtney up a bit.

Courtney huffed in a tired way as she finally acknowledged Heather, "No way, Heather. I know what happens to your "allies". You ditch them as soon as it becomes advantageous. Do Lindsay and Cody ring any bells?"

Heather glared at the counselor-in-training and grumbled under her breath, "Alright, fine, you've got a point. But can we agree that Jo is being extremely annoying with her attitude? Surely you'd agree that we should ditch her."

Courtney seemed to think about it for a moment before giving a non-committal answer, "Ehhh, I'll think about it, Heather. But I had some other targets in my mind for tonight," she looks to the side in a vengeful look.

Heather smirks. Classic Courtney, she thinks. Always failing to look at the bigger picture. The girl truly let emotions get in the way of her game too often. Heather would never act like some lout over a guy! It would never happen, she smugly thought.

Alejandro came jogging past the two girls at a breakneck pace, distracting Heather from her thoughts. He greeted Courtney in a flirting manner, "Why hello there, seniorita. Perhaps you could join me for my reward meal after I cross the finish line first."

With that, he winked at Courtney and started running faster. The CIT looked somewhat mad at the spaniard until she noticed the look on Heather's face and started laughing like a hyena, "You should see your face right now!"

* * *

**CONFESSIONAL:**

**Heather:** "I do NOT like Alejandro. I DON'T!" The queen bee looked furiously at the camera, some remnants of her makeup still coating her cheeks. She crossed her arms, "As soon as merge happens, he is gone. That is a promise. You hear that, Chris!?" Heather jabbed a finger at the camera.

 **Courtney:** She is seen filing her nails as she begins talking frankly, "Honestly, working with Heather isn't too bad, but she is a total snake. Can't let my guard down around her. And she doesn't seem to realize that Duncan and Harold are my main targets at the moment." She gritted her teeth angrily, "I'm tired of being angry all the time! I would be so much happier if those traitors were just GONE!"

* * *

Scott came dragging back to the spot where he had been a dozen times that day: the trailer. He felt exhausted after the day he had had. He mentally chided himself to work out a bit more when he got back to the farm. His calves were NOT cut out for this.

Chris impatiently stomped his foot as Scott trudged towards him and the others. He was the last one back, which made sense because he had also been pushing the carriage all day and was noticeably weaker than Lightning.

"Alright! Now that Scott has made it back, I'll go ahead and officially announce the end of our first day of Total Drama Wars!" Chris nodded at Chef, who surprisingly took over the second part of the monologue. The cook pulled out a pair of notecards and squinted at them, starting to recite them robotically.

"For the Killer Sharks, Alejandro, Brick, and Trent have won luxury meals as a reward for tonight," the cook paused as he looked back over at the Killer Sharks. He then continued, "For the Screaming Bears, the big losers of today," some of the Bears scowled at Chef's barbed words, "Courtney and Heather have won immunity. The Screaming Bears will be heading to elimination tonight." The cook dropped his notecards and motioned for Chris to take back over. Chris looked pleased.

"Alright! Everyone go get cleaned up! You stink!" The host plugged his nose and waved at them all, "Screaming Bears, meet me in an hour for your elimination ceremony, where we'll send one of you packing!" Chris pointed both hands dramatically at them while most of them stared either irritatingly or neutrally at him.

* * *

_(Outside of the Communal Washrooms)_

Duncan and Justin waited outside as Harold showered, Duncan leaning against the outside wall impatiently and Justin glancing at himself inside of his personal mirror. Neither noticed when someone approached them, getting in line themselves.

Neither boy particularly payed attention to the newcomer until a few moments later, when the newcomer cleared their throat, "Ahem"

Duncan raised his unibrow and Justin momentarily looked away from his fan. Both met the eyes of the contestant standing in front of them.

"What do you want?" The punk didn't look happy to see this particular person.

"Relax, piercings. I'm just here to give you guys an idea of who to vote for tonight."

Duncan and Justin, despite their mutual dislike of each other, met gazes and then turned back to the other person.

"Why should we listen to you?" Justin was a bit weary of this. It could be a trick and the male model was not going to be blindsided into elimination.

"Let's just say that this specific person has been getting testy with others all throughout the day, and they could cause everyone quite a headache if they continue staying here."

The other boys listened to the mysterious figure as the interaction continued.

Nearby, someone overheard the details of their conversation and rushed to go do something before it was too late.

* * *

_(The Mess Hall)_

The Killer Sharks had cleaned themselves faster with their new bath trailer, looking refreshed and energized now from their first win of the season. Currently, they were waiting for dinner as they chatted amicably together.

The centers of attention were, of course, Ezekiel and Scott, who Alejandro proudly proclaimed as the main drives of victory for the day. Most of the teammates, despite some of their dislike for either of the boys, couldn't help but agree.

Their conversation was interrupted when Chef walked in, delivering the special reward dinners that Alejandro, Trent, and Brick had won in the follow-up challenge earlier. Alejandro had ordered a special chicken carbonara meal that he claimed was one of his favorites. He reluctantly shared it with Ezekiel, whose mouth was watering at the sight of it, and with Scott, who begged Alejandro for it after the marathons he had ran earlier in the day. Trent had gotten barbecue chicken with carrots and mashed potatoes. When prompted as to why he didn't get a more special food, the musician proudly claimed that the meal would always be his favorite because his grandpa used to cook it for him. He offered graciously to share it with Cody and Leshawna, who both accepted. He had almost offered to Gwen as well, but a simple awkward look from her was enough to keep him away.

Brick, who was enjoying his chicken pot pie, that he had compared to his mom's back at home, enjoyed himself as he sat down next to Mike, who was staring at his gruel rather hesitatingly. Brick noticed him and then looked down at his reward meal.

"Hey Mike, would you maybe want some of my chicken pot pie over here?" The brick-house had been taught by his parents to always be gracious to others, especially those who were nice to him. Mike had been somewhat of a friend before.

Mike looked thankfully at Brick, pondering whether he should pretend to be polite and decline the offer. But he had to remind himself that it was either taking Brick's generous offer or eating gruel. So Mike smiled widely and accepted, "Thanks Brick, really appreciate it buddy," Mike took a few bites as he thought of what to say next.

"Say, what have you been up to since last season?"

Brick blinked a few times before getting a proud smile on his face.

"Well, I spent a bit of time at fashion school with the portion of the million that Cameron gave to me. Learned a few tips and tricks for the future. The guys in my platoon made fun of me, but I don't see any problem with picking up a few extra skills!" Brick explained to Mike, who seemed surprised that Brick had been serious about fashion school. The brick-house continued to describe to Mike some of the activities and charities that his platoon had been involved with, including some where Brick had met some girls.

"Never the right one though," Brick confirmed to Mike. Mike simply patted his back in sympathy and chuckled.

"Well, we don't always meet the right girl at first sight. That's just how it was for me and Zoey." At the mention of her, Mike's eyes grew almost droopy and his gap-toothed grin widened. Brick noticed this and grinned as well.

"You and Zoey seem to be in love to me, soldier. Take it as a professional opinion from an expert in love!" Brick stood up at this, making a power stance to illustrate his point and authority.

Mike sighed happily, "Yeah, I just want to be the perfect guy for her. That's part of the reason that I agreed to come back. Having that million would make it so much easier to visit her."

Brick raised an eyebrow, "Well, I'm sure Zoey understands, Mike. Nobody is perfect after all, right?" He clapped the other boy on the back as he laughed and joined in with the conversation of the others. Mike just stared at the table for a moment, seemingly lost in thought.

* * *

_(Outside of The Mess Hall)_

Ezekiel walked slowly down the steps, still in awe at how well his first day back at camp had gone. He had finally proven himself! He had friends! Well, maybe they weren't friends yet, but he thrived in being optimistic! These thoughts kept him happily blissful as he started the trek back to his cabin, some of the others still cleaning up their messes back at dinner, others going over to meet the Screaming Bears after the elimination ceremony.

His eyes widened as he heard a twig snap behind him. His reflexes were still pretty developed from his time hiding in the Total Drama Jumbo Jet. The formerly-feral boy turned around to see Eva walking closely behind him, a somewhat nervous look on her face.

His first thought was that she was here to beat him up. Maybe even kill him. He knew he couldn't outrun her, so he took to begging on his knees instead.

"O'oh please Eva! Don't be killing The Zeke no'o! Not when he's finally survived a day on this sho'o!" His hands made a pleasing motion as they clasped each other, his gray eyes full of terror and his sickly skin contrasting heavily with the moonlight.

Eva scoffed at him, seeming to take offense at his fearful assumption. When she got right up on the prairie boy, she thumped him on the head.

"Ooowwww!, ehh!" He rubbed his head in slight pain, one eye closed and the other trained on the fitness buff.

"I could do a lot worse than that to you, homeschool. Just like I did back at the Playa." Her eyes seemed to lighten up, "But I'm not going to. I've actually come here to apologize to you."

Ezekiel looked very surprised at this turn of events, "B-but you've beat the crap o'ut of me multiple times, eh! Why are ya apologizin' to The Zeke now?"

Eva rubbed the back of her head slightly in a sheepish, non-Eva sort of way, "Yeahhh, well, my mom enrolled me in some therapy and anger management classes when I got home after season 3. Said I needed to learn how to control myself."

Ezekiel's eyes kept on her as she hesitantly continued, "I'm sorry for being such a jerk to you earlier, homeschool. You know, when I said that you were useless."

He had a small smile now, "Don't worry, homie. The Zeke is used to haters. He can deal."

Eva shook her head in annoyance at his failing attempts at hip-hop slang. Her brow furrowed now as she leaned in further to him, her fist clenched a bit, "Just to be clear though, I'm not apologizing for strangling you in season 1. Your prairie ass deserved it." She looked at him calmly.

"And you'd better not tell anyone about this. I've got a reputation to uphold." With that, she walked past him as he sat there on the ground, wondering if he dreamed all of that.

* * *

_(The Screaming Bears Cabin: Boys Side)_

Harold had just gotten done cleaning up, now sealing his shampoo and toothpaste back into his Magic Steve's camp bag as he sighed. Today had not been great, he acknowledged. Diving wasn't among his many mad skills, and he had gotten into a silly fight with Courtney earlier. The nerd rubbed the back of his neck subconsciously as he remembered why the CIT hated him so.

Harold bitterly remembered the old days of Total Drama Island, where he was picked on mercilessly by Duncan, Geoff, and DJ. They had done things like giving him wedgies, tricking him into drinking grease, and stripping him naked in front of all of the other campers. He had taken action, he proudly remembered, but definitely not in a fair or righteous way. He had replaced the votes that would have sent him home with votes for Duncan's flame, Courtney.

Harold sighed, "I just want to apologize to her."

He heard someone behind him give an unimpressed sigh, "You talking about crazy-in-training back there?"

Harold turned his head slightly to catch sight of his bunkmate, Noah. He briefly acknowledge him before zipping his bag up for the night.

"Yeah," Harold said, his eyes downcast, "My sensei says that it isn't good to harbor so much guilt."

Noah rolled his eyes, walking over to his bag to grab a book to read at the campfire ceremony.

"Whatever. Suit yourself, I guess. She'll never accept any apology though. Too many loose circuits in the brain," Noah pointed his left hand at his forehead, tapping it a few times to prove a point.

Harold's eyes fell to the hardwood floor as Noah noticed his upset expression.

"Say Harold, do you happen to play COD?"

* * *

**CONFESSIONAL:**

**Heather:** "I'm voting for that stubborn new girl in the ugly gray hoodie. She has some nerve throwing me off of that cliff!" Heather looked enraged from earlier, still, even after cleaning up her makeup.

 **Courtney:** "I don't know who to vote for! There are just so many choices," the CIT rapped her chin in thought, "Duncan or Harold. Traitor or traitor. Hmmm. Tough choice."

 **Zoey:** "I'm thinking that I'm going to vote off Duncan. He was being pretty rude to Harold earlier. And I can't exactly vote off Heather." The indie girl sighed and seemed to remember something, "I would vote for Lightning usually, but I just can't shake this feeling of guilt over what happened to him last season."

 **Harold:** "I'm voting for that idiot Duncan! GOSH!" Harold seems to get worked up for a moment and then he calms down and grins at the camera, "The guy just grinds my gears. Always picking on me despite how well I do. Reminds me of middle school." Harold shudders at the unpleasant memories.

 **Lightning:** "Of course the sha-Lightning is voting for Jo!" Lightning crosses his arms and looks angrily to the side, "If it wasn't enough that Jo betrayed Lightning last season, she also totally threw him off of his groove today with her banshee yelling!" Lightning kicks the confessional wall as he rolls his eyes, "Lightning didn't even know that girls could be so ugly and deceitful."

 **Justin:** "So, I've gotta admit that this person has been pretty obnoxious. So have many other people, mind you, but everybody else is voting this way I'm told."

 **Duncan:** "So, I wasn't quite sure who I was going to vote for. I was thinking either Harold or Courtney at first. Both are getting on my nerves pretty badly." He pauses, looking a bit serious for a moment, "But I'm told that I'm in danger and that someone else is a pretty good candidate for elimination. Gotta say that I agree."

 **Lindsay:** "I don't really know who I'm going to vote for. So many of my teammates just aren't getting along that well!" The blonde girl taps her cheek as she looks sad for a moment.

 **Jo:** "Do you even need to ask? Brightning gets my vote every day of the week." She scowls as she clutches her sides and shifts her hands into her hoodie pockets.

 **Noah:** "Jo," he said monotonously as he then shoots his eyes back down to his book, turning a page rather gently.

* * *

_(Campfire Pit)_

Chris looked over at the Screaming Bears from his podium, pity in his eyes as he glanced at each of them sitting their on their log seats.

"So, Screaming Bears. You guys lost the first challenge of the season by the skin of your teeth! Many of you are to blame for that. I mean, you guys were involved in quite the bloodbath earlier! And I'm not talking about the sharks."

Some of the Bears scowled at this lame pun. Why couldn't Chris just get on with it?

"But now you're here, at the elimination ceremony," Chris looked serious suddenly, "if I call your name, then you are safe and you will live to see another day here at Camp Wawanakwa."

His eyes shifted to the other side in a close-up shot as his voice grew dramatic, "Whichever one of you does not hear your name called will board the Boat of Losers. Meaning that you are out of the contest. And you cannot come back. Eveerrr," The host droned.

"Now, let's begin. Chef, the marshmallows?" Chris checked with Chef Hatchet for the symbols of immunity. Chef, in return, nodded his head and held a tray of marshmallows. Chris motioned for him to set them down on his podium. He then began grabbing them, ready to throw them to whoever's name he called.

"Heather, Courtney. You both gained immunity. You get the first marshmallows."

"Justin." The male model graciously caught his marshmallow and ran to stand next to the girls, flashing them a brilliant smile.

"Zoey." The indie girl caught hers happily and joined the others, staring back at those left.

"Noah." The bookworm slunked up towards the others after he caught his marshmallow.

"Lindsay." Lindsay clapped her hands and caught her marshmallow happily. She presented it to Courtney and Noah, who rolled their eyes.

"Harold." The redhead pumped his arms and joined the others.

"Now, we have two marshmallows left."

Lightning looked at Duncan and Jo, who both also suddenly looked panicked. His head jerked back towards Chris Maclean as he started biting his nails.

"Lightning. You're a bit annoying and unfriendly. You were the one pushing the carriage for your team, who lost the challenge."

Lightning protested loudly, "But Lightning pushed it as fast as he could. He would've been way ahead of the weakling Scott if the sharks weren't giving his teammates so much trouble!"

Chris has a glint in his eye as he tossed him a marshmallow, "Exactly, which is why you are safe." Lightning caught it gratefully as he jogged to this safe teammates.

Chris now glanced at Jo, and then at Duncan. "Quite a predicament here," he mused.

"Duncan, you provoked a fight earlier and have been a huge jerk to some members of your team. Can anyone blame them for voting for you?" Duncan growled as some, like Harold and Courtney, glowered at him.

Chris's gaze shifted back to Jo, "Jo, you're here because your obsession with being team leader provoked the fight earlier as well. You callously threw Heather off of the cliff. No idea why your teammates are mad at you about that, by the way."

Heather glared pointedly at Chris.

Chris coughed at the hateful look, "But you also messed Lightning up earlier, which led to your team's defeat."

Jo didn't even bother acknowledging what the host was saying. She just looked at her teammates in a threatening manner.

"Which one of you is safe?"

"..."

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"Duncan."

The delinquent caught his marshmallow with a smirk, going up to join his other teammates. Courtney and Harold didn't look happy about this. Others looked very satisfied with the results.

"That'll teach you to mess with me, you ugly gym rat," Heather taunted Jo from over next to Chris's podium.

Jo's eye twitched as Chef Hatchet approached her cautiously, throwing her over his shoulder as she finally let out an angry and defiant scream, kicking the cook's back.

"You'll all regret this! I was the best chance you had! Who'll be the leader of you monkeys nooooooowwww!" Jo's voice carried off as Chef threw her onto the Boat of Losers and drove off into the night. The Screaming Bears just watched the boat drive away.

Chris watched it too. Then, he grew a grin on his face as he turned to the safe contestants, "Count yourselves lucky! You're all safe!"

His white smile glinted in the darkness of night, "For tonight."

"Now get back to your cabin"

As the contestants wordlessly left for their cabin after that hard day, one of them inwardly praised themself for how well their plan to eliminate Jo had gone. Glancing side-to-side at their remaining teammates, they assured themself that they would be surviving many more of those ceremonies. Many more of them.

* * *

_(Bonus Scene: Before Jo's Elimination)_

Jo was truly exhausted from the day that she had, both physically and mentally. Not only had she been the only member of her team to dive twice, but she had also been the member to lose the challenge at the grand end. She rolled her eyes in annoyance. Clearly it was Lightning's fault, not hers. Her teammates would have to be idiots to not see that.

As she dressed in her conventional gray hoodie, she stepped outside. The stars were already out and she intended to be there early for he elimination ceremony. Maybe she would be able to swing some extra votes Lightning's way, she wondered. Couldn't hurt.

Getting into a light jog, Jo began on her trek to the campfire. However, she stopped in her tracks when she heard a rather smilies voice calling out to her from behind a tree.

Her violet eyes narrowed. Not him.

She turned around with her hand on her hips and groaned. "Of course it's you. What's the problem? Come to rub in your victory, G.I. Joke?"

Brick, dubbed as G.I. Joke to her, stepped out into the opening, a somewhat nervous look in his eyes. Jo softened a bit at that.

"I-I heard that you might be getting some votes tonight."

Jo raised an eyebrow. Really? She was getting votes tonight? She wondered who it could be that would vote for her briefly, before she abandoned all effort and shrugged. Didn't matter. She was pretty sure she was safe.

"Is that all? So what did you run out here for? To warn me?"

He approached her, fiddling some of his fingers together as he looked down, not meeting her eyes.

"You know, it's been a little while since we last saw each other. I just wanted to take care of some unfinished business in case you leave tonight."

Jo grew a cocky grin on her face as her eyes glittered in the moonlight, "Yeah, so you want to race or something? I don't really got the time and you know you'll just lose agai—"

Brick grabbed her wrists forcefully and planted a quick kiss on her lips before withdrawing and taking one last glance at her as she stared at him in a bit of shock.

"I've always wanted to do that," he saluted her sloppily as he started walking away. "I hope to see you again tomorrow. Maybe we can talk?" After he said this, he nervously began jogging away as she just stood there dumbfounded for a second.

"What the hell?" Jo didn't say anything else after that.

* * *

_(Previously Unaired Confessional From Right After The Previous Scene)_

**Jo:** "...so...," the usually smug and loud girl now looked a bit lost for words. "I-I guess that I could get to like brick-house. Only guy to ever give me that real sense of competition." She smiled a bit and closed her eyes as she continued, "Figures I might as well tell my sob story. After last season, I came home as a joke. My parents made fun of me and so did the guys at my gym. Said that I didn't get any real respect and that being upstaged by that bubble nerd was shameful," she scowled at this last part. "As if everyone else didn't lose to Cameron. But no, it was only me that was the loser. Only me." She hugged her gray hoodie a bit, "I guess, at the end of the day, I just want to prove myself. And maybe I'll give Brick a shot after we say goodbye to Lightning." She gives the camera a satisfied smile.

* * *

Chris turned away from the departing contestants and smiled widely at the camera, clapping his hands together.

"And that concludes Episode 1 of Total Drama Wars! Those contestants of ours seem a bit tired and weary already!" Chris chuckled a bit under his breath, "Wait 'til they see what we've got waiting for them tomorrow! Tune in to find out in Episode 2! Who orchestrated Jo's elimination? What secrets are some of our contestants keeping? And who has the upper hand in this battle for 5 cool ones?!"

Chris shot finger guns at the camera, "Find out next time on TOTAL. DRAMA. WARS!"

* * *

**Votes:**

Jo - Lightning

Heather - Jo

Noah - Jo

Justin - Jo

Duncan- Jo

Lightning - Jo

Courtney - Harold

Zoey - Duncan

Lindsay - Duncan

Harold- Duncan

**Vote Tally:**

Jo - 5 votes

Duncan - 3 votes

Harold - 1 vote

Lightning - 1 vote

* * *

**The Killer Sharks: Alejandro, Scott, Cody, Trent, Ezekiel, Mike, Brick, Leshawna, Eva, and Gwen**

**The Screaming Bears: Lightning, Heather, Zoey, Courtney, Duncan, Justin, Noah, Lindsay, and Harold**

* * *

**Elimination Order: Jo, ?**

* * *

**So there it is! Episode 1 Part 2! I got it out quickly because I'm off school due to Hurricane Sally.**

**I've been told that this is the worst chapter of the story really. Sadly true, though I think it still was pretty good. If you didn't like it though, I would ask that you try Chapter 3! The writing style changes a lot between this chapter and that one :)**

**So how do you like the challenges and format?**

**Do you like the drama and interactions so far?**

**Any favorite characters or predictions?**

**(Sorry to any Jo fans. Somebody had to be booted** **first. I tried to give her some good moments and solid motivation though!) (Also, I realize that I deleted this chapter before. It is because I wanted to add some more scenes) I want to do something with everyone but some have to leave too soon :(**

**Feel free to tell me in your reviews! And if you want to follow the story or favorite it, that would be much appreciated good sirs and ma'am's!**

**Until next time, WhatTheHeck signing out!**


	3. War Games (Episode 2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chris and Chef give the campers their second challenge: defending and trying to take over forts! Will the Screaming Bears redeem themselves? Which team will come up with the better plan? Is there any point in writing this summary since I’ve gotta explain it all in the story anyway?

**Disclaimer: I don't own Total Drama or any of its characters. The Total Drama Series and all of its characters are the property of FreshTV and the parent company of the Total Drama television show.**

**Hey guys! I'm back again, now bringing you chapter 3 of this thrilling season! It's going to be a bit lengthier from now on, so I hope you're buckled up ;) The humor and drama are only gonna get better from here now that the introduction episodes are over!**

_Please drop a review, follow, or favorite if you like the story or have something that you think could have been done better! I encourage feedback. And I love interacting with you all._

**To Reviewer Gucci: Thanks for the feedback man! I try! I think you'll find that Scott will have much more leverage in this game than he did in All-Stars, but I can't give away much more than that ;) Also, Zoey and Lightning were an interesting conflict to me in TDROTI. I felt it was a bit under-utilized.**

**To Reviewer Mark: Thanks for the feedback! I apologize if I'm throwing a bit too much detail at you guys. I'm kinda a novice writer ;) And I'm trying to give all of the characters some time, which might get some of them a bit out of character. I'll try to work on it, though!**

**Ezekiel was the one you were most interested in? That wasn't my intention, I'll tell you. I had kinda expected another character to catch the eyes of viewers, but I'm not complaining!**

* * *

**Day 2: War Games**

_(The camera opens on the familiar docks of Camp Wawanakwa)_

Chris McLean walks slightly down the dock as the camera zooms in on him, following the host's every move as he gives a television-caliber smile and puts his hands up in the air around him, the morning sun casting a shadow upon the leaky boards beneath him.

"Welcome back viewers! Last time on Total Drama Wars," After these words, the screen began showing clipped scenes of the last episode.

"Our contestants arrived, excited to be seeing familiar faces once again!" As he says this, clips flash on the screen, first of Trent arriving with a deeply regretful look on his face, then of Ezekiel walking onto the dock, the other contestants staring at him with mixed looks of worry, fear, and anger (Heather).

Chris laughed a bit at the images and then puffed up his chest, "Yours truly sorted them into two teams, the Killer Sharks," a red emblem of a smiling Shark with razor-sharp teeth popped up on screen, "and the Screaming Bears!" At this cue, a green emblem of a Bear screaming with an extremely wide jaw and hands on its head popped onscreen.

"After they all got unpacked and delivered some tasty new Drama, they met me at the famous cliffside of Wawanakwa where I announced their first challenge of the season: Diving off of the cliff in search of the correct key to unlock the reward of the day: a nice and clean bathroom and beauty trailer!" Images of the contestants staring nervously at Chris as they stood on the cliff pass onto the screen, followed by a picture of the aforementioned reward trailer.

"After some rather wimpy displays of diving and carriage-pushing *COUGH Scott and Cody *COUGH*," images of Scott desperately gasping for breath while running his team's carriage around the forest and one of Cody being pushed off of the cliff by Trent appeared.

"The trailer was FINALLY opened by Ezekiel, delivering victory in the first challenge of the season to the Killer Sharks! Didn't see that one coming! Never thought I'd see the day that he survived an elimination ceremony!"

"After a follow-up challenge for immunity/rewards, Jo was sent packing for her superior and nagging attitude." The host now arched his eyebrows with a sinister look and pointed his index fingers at the screen.

"Who will be sent packing next? How much longer can these contestants pretend to like each other? And will the Screaming Bears disappoint us all again?"

"Find out now on Episode 2 of Total. Drama. Wars!

* * *

**Dear Mom and Dad I'm doin' fine,**

(The camera pans over the cliff, where Scott, Alejandro, and Ezekiel are peering over the edge as some of the sharks wave them down. Ezekiel and Alejandro look at each other before Scott lets out a scream)

**You guys are on my mind.**

(The camera jumps down into water, where Harold is swimming. Nearby, a boat race is happening between Courtney, Jo, and Heather. Courtney's boat runs over Harold's head as she paddles ferociously)

**You asked me what I wanted to be**

**And now I think the answer is plain to see,**

(On the beach, Gwen and Duncan lay together in a towel. They lean in to kiss, only for Duncan to fall backwards into the sand after hearing Scott's scream)

**I wanna be famous.**

(Noah and Justin are push-fighting outside the confessional as Leshawna walks out of it and shoves Noah to the ground. Justin starts laughing at him until Leshawna steps on his foot)

**I wanna live close to the sun,**

**Go pack your bags, 'cause I've already won,**

(Zoey can be seen in the mess hall holding Mike's hands and leaning in. Mike suddenly clutches his head and runs out the door)

**Everything to prove, nothing in my way**

**I'll get there one day.**

(The camera pans to outside of the mess hall, where Mike trips over the steps and falls on top of Lightning, who was on his morning run outside. They both groan in pain)

**Cause, I wanna be famous!**

(The camera pans to the front of the cabins. Brick and Lindsay are sitting next to each other on the steps, where she is seen talking to him about fashion. She sees Trent walking by and tries to fix her hair, only to topple off of the steps)

**Na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na!**

(The camera pans back over to the campfire at night, where all of the campers sit in the middle on the log-seats except for Cody, who is leaning against Chris's podium and trying to flirt with Eva, who has her arms crossed. Chris comes over and shoves Cody off of the podium as Chef tells him a joke and he laughs maniacally)

**I wanna be, I wanna be, I wanna be famous**

**I wanna be, I wanna be, I wanna be famous**

(The camera slowly fades out as it leaves the campfire and slowly shifts to the indigo sky scattered with bright white stars. All of the campers whistle as the intro ends)

* * *

(Killer Sharks Cabin: Boys Side)

Scott groaned as he grabbed his pillow and shoved it into his face, "Keep it down over there! Some of us are trying to sleep in over here!"

He was referring, of course, to Mike, who was strangely talking in his sleep, just as he had done before last season.

"This convo isn't constructive anymore, mates. Sure, the ol' timer over there got control yest'aday, but we can't be counting on it in the fut'ure," an Aussie accent could be heard coming from Mike with these words.

The still-sleeping twig boy gasped loudly, his face contorting as his spiky hair slicked back, "Ey, I'm tired 'a being locked in 'ere. We need 'a mount a mob or something. That twig can't keep us locked up 'ere forev'a." This all came out in a somewhat Italian-influenced accent that sounded like it came from New Jersey.

Mike, or more accurately, Mike's body gasped loudly again, his eye scrunching up as his hair turned spiky again, "I'll never work with you punks again! I'd sooner take a trip to Russia!" Mike's voice here seemed more shrill, borderline annoying.

The boy's face contorted one last time as it became less wrinkled, "And v'at exactly is ze problem v'ith Russia? You're stuck in ze times, old man! Svetlana doesn't even be thinking that zou v'ere much of a help last time!" His accent shifted once again, mirroring a stereotypical Russian one.

Scott was now at his breaking point. Mike's sleep-talking had made it impossible to go back to sleep when he had come back to the cabin earlier this morning.

* * *

(Flashback to Earlier that Morning)

Scott slowly opened up one eye, looking around at the other bunks around his, scanning for his teammates.

He caught sight first of Trent and Cody, both with Apple headphones sticking into their ears with their phones laying next to them. They seemed to have been lulled to sleep by special music playlists.

His eye kept moving left, only to catch sight of a half-empty bunk. Alejandro was there, snoring softly on his stomach, but Ezekiel's bed was empty. The farm boy frowned as his eye kept wandering.

There was Mike, asleep, or so it seemed. He was muttering something in his sleep. Scott didn't care to listen, because he was more focused on the empty bed that Brick should've been in.

He cursed lightly. Two teammates were already up. That didn't fare well for his secret plan. He opened up his other eye and slowly got out of bed, making sure to tread lightly so as not to awaken anyone else.

He then tiptoed out of the door, looking in both directions outside of the cabin as he slipped out into the forest.

* * *

**CONFESSIONAL:**

**Scott:** "Alright, so I was looking for an invincibility statue! I'm not feeling that comfortable on this team yet." The farm boy had a rock in his hand that he bounced off of the wall and caught several times. "Chris never said that there was a statue out there, but he also never said that there wasn't. And the Scottmeister could use some safety if it's out there."

 **Chris:** The host rubbed his chin in thought, "You know, Scott is right. I never said that there WASN'T an invincibility statue hidden on the island." He then grins at the camera directly and gives out an evil laugh, "But there isn't one! I'm not gonna tell Scott that, of course. It's just too much fun to watch him running around aimlessly."

 **Chef:** The big burly cook just sighed at the camera and shook his head, "I don't know why I come back to this show every season. The kids just seem to get dumber and pretty boy seems to get more petty."

* * *

Scott got up, grouchily stomping towards his annoying sleeping teammate. He punched Mike harshly in the arm to let out his anger.

"Owww," Mike drolled in a sleepy voice, "What was that for?" He opened his eyes and saw a blurry vision of Scott. The boy sat up quickly, shooting Scott an unfriendly look.

Scott crosses his arms and turned a bit away from Mike, "You need to stop talking in your sleep, Multiple Mike. I needs me some beauty sleep if I'm gonna do good in the challenges."

Mike rolled his eyes and turned to set his feet on the cold ground. He shivered a bit at the new sensation and scratched his back, standing up and walking over to his suitcase, "I wouldn't worry about the challenges, Scott. You won't be around for many more of them." With that, Mike, his clothes, toothbrush, and shampoo bottle in hand, walked out of the cabin.

On the other side of the cabin, Alejandro, whose eyes were still closed, frowned. He had been listening to them the entire time.

* * *

**CONFESSIONAL:**

**Mike:** "Alright, so I would usually be a bit worried that someone like Scott had heard my personalities talking in my sleep, but he didn't make any wisecracks about what they said, so I think it's safe." He then leaned back a bit, looking in the corner of the confessional cam as his face grew a bit tense, "That guy really brings out a bad side of me. It just infuriates me that he took advantage of so many of my friends last season and still gets to compete!"

The quirky boy ran a finger through his spiky hair and looked at the camera once again, "I really wish that Cameron was here. I could really use a good friend right now. I don't know any of these guys. Trent and Cody seem cool, but they kinda seem to gravitate towards each other. Ezekiel still seems kinda creepy to me. I'll never forget him sending those mutant gophers after me and the others." The boy's eyes widen in slight fear at the memory of the terrifying and loudly-wailing gophers. He hugs his legs to his chest, "Brick's pretty nice. Hopefully, he and I actually get to hang-out this season now that Zoey's on the other team!" Mike laughs a bit in his normal good-natured way before looking somewhat saddened that he's been separated from Zoey.

 **Alejandro:** "So Mike's personalities are still active. Interesting." The Latino rapped his lip a bit at what he had heard, "They seemed to be quite angry at him. And at each other. I wonder what is going on."

He then turned his eyes back to the camera and smiled, "I'm not going to try using this against him, of course. But it's always nice to be in the know in this game. Especially if I have use of this information in the future." His green eyes looked absolutely devious.

* * *

(The Mess Hall)

As most of the contestants entered the mess hall in a steady stream, they caught a strange sight of two people that had been missing from bed this morning, namely Brick and Ezekiel.

The two boys were already eating at the table assigned to the Killer Sharks, and Brick was telling the former feral boy about some funny times from his time as a cadet as Ezekiel just nodded and listened intently.

"And because the lady couldn't go back out the way she had came in, Gilligan had to dress her up in his uniform and put a covering over her head! Told the guys at the gate that she was a stock-supplier from another unit! Even kissed her goodbye in front of them; the gatekeepers looked really lost after that one!" The brick-house slammed one of his fists on the table in laughter as Ezekiel also started cracking up a bit.

"That Gilligan so'unds like a mighty fun guy, eh. Everybody must love him." Ezekiel seemed really interested in the topic, possibly because he himself was quite unpopular with others.

Brick chuckled a bit as he wolfed down his charred breakfast, "Yeah, he's quite popular with everyone in the unit. Really has a way of lightening things up, even when it gets tough. He never wins any medals though!"

The two continued to chat as the other contestants formed a line by the food window, waiting for the aggressive Chef Hatchet to serve them their food as they lazily held their black trays.

Chef Hatchet, for his part, had tried to cook a nice breakfast of eggs and grits for the contestants. It hadn't really turned out all that well.

Gwen, unfortunate enough to be first in the line, looked down at the messy black substance that Chef scooped onto her tray. The food, if it could even be called that, was somewhat crossed between a liquid and a solid, with a yellowish goo oozing slightly out of its side. The goth girl opened her mouth to ask Chef about it, only to see the Chef rubbing his fingers again his silver meat cleaver as he glared at her. She sighed and walked off toward her team's table.

Next in-line was Harold, who looked a bit disgusted as Chef loaded his tray up with the unappetizing goop. He put his finger in the neck of his shirt and nervously said, "Uhhh, Chef?"

Chef Hatchet narrowed his eyes at him as Harold continued with an unconscious grimace on his face at the disgusting food, "Does this stuff have any of my allergies in it? Gosh, I don't mean to insult your culinary skills. It's just kinda important, ya know?"

Chef's eyes seemed less hard than a moment ago as he looked up in thought before trudging you the back of the small kitchen room. Some others in line looked sympathetically at Harold, thinking that Chef might be playing a trick on the lank nerd.

Moments later, Chef returned with a small pair of reading glasses and a piece of wide-rule paper. The cook held both quite delicately in his rather big hands as he put the glasses in front of his face and squinted his eyes at the list. After a few seconds of mumbling, he abruptly dropped the list and directed his eyes to Harold, "This food is allergy-free, nerd boy! So feel free to enjoy it." Harold thanked Chef as he walked toward his table, glancing at his "food" with a disgusted expression.

As the line continued to move over there, Harold sat down next to Gwen, who had sat at the Screaming Bears' table so that she could eat with Duncan. She glanced up at him as he sat down.

Harold greeted her with a small smile, twirling his "food" with his fork, "Hey there, Gwen. How're you feeling about all of this so far?"

Gwen looked silently at the nerd for a few second before loosening up and answering, "Well, I'm not really excited to be one of Chris's little guinea pigs again, but it is really nice to be seeing some old friends again." The goth glanced over at Leshawna and Lindsay, who were still in the food line. She then glanced back at Harold.

"So Harold...," things got a bit awkward as Gwen was at a loss for words. She and Harold has never really interacted that much before. Something came to her mind in a flash, "How are things going between you and Leshawna? I haven't really gotten the chance to ask her yet." She shoveled some of Chef's mystery meal into her mouth.

Harold's smile drooped down a bit, something that Gwen noticed immediately. Before he could say anything, she let out a small gasp, "You guys broke up?! Really? I thought you were crazy for her? I remember those poems you wrote her on the Island."

The nerd sighed blissfully, "Yeahhh, those were the good days. Before Leshawna started running after other guys." He crosses his arms and glared softly at Alejandro, who was currently mocking Heather in the steadily-moving food line.

Gwen raised an eyebrow at him, as did Noah, who had sat down nearby. "Wait, you mean that you and Leshawna are through because of that? That was nothing! Tons of girls fawned over Alejandro!" Gwen looked somewhat irritated at the reminder that the Latino hunk had tricked so many of her friends off of the show.

Noah cut into the conversation here, pointing his left index finger upward, "I never understood why you liked Leshawna anyway. She's big, loud, and quite annoying."

Gwen glared at the bookworm, "Oh yeah," she smirked at Noah, "Well, at least Leshawna knows how to play dodgeball. Or how to lift a finger in general."

Noah rolled his eyes, "What a softball insult. Really Gwen, I thought you were better than that."

Harold's eyes lit up at the mention of dodgeball. The scrawny boy pumped his biceps proudly, "Dodgeball! That was the first challenge that I showed off my mad skills. No wonder Noah didn't want to play; he would've been facing me."

Gwen laughed at the joke as Noah facepalmed a bit. Harold grinned at both of their reactions.

* * *

**CONFESSIONAL:**

**Harold:** He is still grinning widely at the camera, "At least I know that I can still get a good laugh out of people. Especially a downer like Gwen. Comedy is one of my many mad skills."

He mimed a karate chop motion, "ha-wat-ka-cha!" He crossed his arms and closed his eyes, smiling proudly, "I wonder if I'll get lucky enough to get a challenge involving kara-te or card tricks? 'Cause I'm a cinch at both!"

* * *

Somebody else sat a tray down next to Gwen, laughing at Harold.

"Oh! How priceless! Harold thinks he was a stud! You only became good in the last round, dude." Duncan took his seat next to Gwen, kissing her on the cheek. Gwen frowned a bit at his rude words.

Harold scowled, "You know that I did well in that challenge, Duncan. You even admitted it yourself after we won."

Duncan raised an eyebrow at Harold and then shrugged, "True. I just like messing with you, if I'm being honest."

Gwen scowled a bit at her boyfriend and smiled at Harold, "Sorry about Duncan. He's just a bit mad that he has to compete again. You remember how he tried to quit in season 3."

Duncan grunted quietly, looking a bit unhappy with Gwen's explanation. She elbowed him in the side underneath the table and he cleared his throat, looking into Harold's eyes now, "Alright, alright. I'm sorry for being a jerk to you, Harold. You and I work pretty well together." The punk chuckled a bit, rubbing the back of his head as he said genuinely now, "I really thought it was cool how you saved us from that drowning chamber in Action. And how you beatboxed in Island."

Noah's eyes widened, but not as much as Harold's did. He began stuttering a bit, "Y-you, y-you're apologizing to me?"

Duncan frowned a bit as his eyebrows tended up, "Only because Gwen convinced me that I should be a bit nicer to you. I still think that you're a dweeb." The tough guy crossed his arms and closed his eyes. Gwen winked at Harold with a smirk on her face.

Noah ruined the moment with his signature deadpan voice, "That's nice. It seems like the wild delinquent can be tamed after all. Now that you're a big sweetheart, where's my apology for when you stole my pants in the Island special?"

Duncan's eyes opened and he laughed a bit next to Gwen, "Oh, oh! That's right! I had forgotten about that! You ran off screaming like a girl." The punk continued to let out loud laughter, bracing himself against Gwen as she chuckled.

Gwen smirked evilly at the egghead, "Sorry Noah, but I'm not convincing Duncan to apologize to you. Maybe when you begin playing nice with everyone here, I'll work my magic." The goth girl mockingly swished her hands in the way that a wizard would.

Noah's eyes were half-lidded in mild annoyance at Gwen and Duncan's mockery of him.

"Yeah, thanks for the offer. I'll make sure to file that away," he sarcastically quipped as Harold patted his shoulder in mock sympathy.

A tray loudly fell onto the table just a few seats away from the group, catching their attention quite immediately.

Courtney had a hateful glare in her onyx eyes as she calmly turned to Noah, the only one of the group that she could tolerate the presence of.

"Why is Gwen sitting here, Noah? She isn't on our team and therefore isn't allowed to sit-in on team meetings."

Duncan rolled his eyes in annoyance, his buzz now gone. Gwen looked down at the table, a somewhat guilty-looking expression plastered on her pale face.

Harold looked much the same as Gwen: guilty-looking. He wanted desperately to apologize or say something to Courtney right now, but his lips stayed stubbornly shut.

Noah's lazy eyes drifted to the CIT, meeting them directly. He let out his famous drawl, "Wellll, it just so happened to turn out that this wasn't a strategic meeting and that I didn't have a pole up my ass."

Courtney glared at him as she sat down, averting her eyes from them as she began eating. Duncan and Gwen looked at Noah with shocked looks on their faces.

"Uhhhhh, thanks bookworm. That was pretty cool of you." And so the universe had turned upside-down. Duncan, Total Drama's resident delinquent, had thanked Noah, Total Drama's sarcastic bookworm.

* * *

**CONFESSIONAL:**

**Courtney:** She has an incredibly mad look on her mocha-colored face, her freckles twitching along with her nose, "Who does that bookworm think he is?! Talking to me like that?!"

She took a few deep breaths, her hands rested on her chest as she calmed down, "I've just got to find a way to get rid of Duncan and Harold! Maybe then I can finally just let go in this competition!"

She clenched her fists with a hopeful look on her face. "I know that people will think I'm just being whiney, but I've caught so much flack and humiliation back home for what Harold, Duncan, and Gwen did to me! I used to be student body President! Now I'm just a joke!" Her eyes grow a bit watery as she puts her face in her hands.

 **Noah:** He is reading intently, his face hidden in his book for a few moments before looking up at the camera, "What? I only helped Gwen and Duncan out because Courtney's stuck-up attitude gets on my last nerve."

He looked a bit annoyed now, "And sure, I let them have their fun insulting me. I hardly see how that translates to me going soft." With this, he turned his eyes back to his book. The cover could be briefly seen as one from the Lord of The Rings series.

* * *

Alejandro sat down, his eyes following Heather as she sauntered to the other team's table. He had been successfully annoying her in the food-line, and that was a very good way to start out the day. Watching her eyebrows clench up instinctively, the way that her lips pursed a bit to the left, the crinkles that appeared around her eyes as they narrowed...

He was suddenly pulled out of his daydream as Ezekiel, the person sitting on his left, turned toward him with a confused expression, "Hey Alejandro'o, are ya feelin' alright, homie?"

Alejandro blinked a few times, shaking those diabolical thoughts away. No more thinking about Heather, he chided himself. She was nothing but trouble.

He turned to face the prairie boy next to him, "I'm doing fine now, mi amigo. Thank you for your concern. I'm just a bit tired," he lied.

Ezekiel grew a small smile, "Alright, homes. The Zeke was just worried abo'ot ya for a moment. Your cheeks were gro'owing a bit red and your eyes were hazy, eh." He shook his head a bit, "I'll never understand how you city folks manage to sleep so'o long anyway, eh. I've been up for almo'ost 3 ho'ors now!"

Alejandro remembered seeing Ezekiel and Brick chatting together when he entered the mess hall.

"Oh, really? Did our friendly cadet teammate join you in rising early?"

Ezekiel glanced at Brick for a moment and smiled. Brick noticed this and shot a quick smile back before turning back to Trent and Cody, with whom he was chatting to about their music playlists that he had noticed earlier that morning.

"Yeah, he's a pretty nice guy, eh. None of the other new competitors have really forgiven The Zeke for what happened in tho'ose mines last season," the redneck deflated a bit at the reminder of it all. The memories were a bit hazy to him, thank goodness.

Alejandro patted his new friend's back, "Now, now. You mustn't blame yourself for that, Zeke. What happened was not your fault."

Ezekiel felt a smile tugging at his lips, "Thanks Alejandro'o! You know, you're a lot nicer than anyone gives ya credit for!"

Suddenly, another hand clasped Ezekiel's shoulder. Both boys turned to see Leshawna. She glared at Alejandro as she sat down on the other side of the prairie boy, "Don't be trusting this snake, Zeke. He's probably just buttering you up to eliminate you later." Things grew tense between the three as Ezekiel looked between them nervously and pulled his toque down over his face. Alejandro averted his eyes to avoid looking directly at Leshawna as the black girl shot him a nasty and accusing glare.

* * *

**CONFESSIONAL:**

**Leshawna:** She crosses her arms and tosses her hair to the left side, huffing angrily, "That Alejandro is up to it again, I just know it! I keep hearing that he's changed, but my mama always told me that men like that never change."

She shook her head and smiled a bit, "Anyway, I figure it's kinda my responsibility to help poor Ezekiel out. White boy went crazy for awhile. And now he's got Alejandro coming after him. I feel bad for him, honestly. Leshawna knew that Chris was cruel, but I had no idea that he was THAT cruel." The sister shrugged a bit.

 **Alejandro:** He sat squarely, looking a bit thoughtfully at the camera, "So Leshawna is gunning for my blood, eh?"

He looked down a bit regretfully at his burn scars, "I do want to apologize to the chica, but it doesn't seem like that's going to be easy. Especially since I'm still aiming for the 5 million dollars."

* * *

The contestants all wince and grab their ears as the loud noise of an air horn suddenly goes off all around them. Chef Hatchet had put on a pair of fuzzy pink earmuffs mere seconds before the sound reverberated inside of the mess hall.

The dual doors to the mess hall swung open as Chris stepped in, both of his hands clasped together behind his back. He was wearing a royal green military uniform jacket, embroidered with several small gold medals, along with his usual tan khaki pants. A green, bowl-shaped helmet sat on top of his head and he was wearing a pair of light blue googles. He marched a few steps into the hall, his eyes sweeping over the contestants before he smiled.

"Morning campers! Welcome to day 2 of Total Drama Wars! You have all, somehow, survived your first day back on the island."

Some of the campers murmur a bit as they take in Chris's military outfit. Duncan chuckles and whispers to Gwen about it, "So, you think Chris was ever in the military?"

She grins and whispers back, "Maybe as a janitor."

Chef Hatchet looked miffed in the kitchen portion of the mess hall. Cody, who was sitting closest to him, could've sworn he heard Chef grumble that he should've gotten to announce the challenge.

Chris's smile turned devious as he took in their reactions, "But today is when we get into the REAL hard stuff! So! Can anyone tell me what any good soldier needs?" He waited expectantly for an answer as he stood in front of both teams.

Some of them looked at each other, communicating that they didn't have a clue.

Noah lazily raised his hand. Chris caught sight of him immediately and pointed at him enthusiastically, "Yes! Noah?"

Noah felt all eyes on him as he made a neutral expression with his mouth, "A working rifle?"

Chris smirked at him, "Silly Noah! Haven't you ever heard of the Russian Army?!"

Noah clicked his tongue as a bit of a smile crept onto his face, "Ah, touché."

Eva grunted near the back, "Easy. Every soldier needs some muscle." Cody looked across the table at her, his eyes tracing her biceps as he absently nodded.

Chris pursed his lips, starting to get a bit annoyed. "No! C'mon guys! Can't anyone help me out here?"

Lindsay's hand shot up frantically next. The beautiful blonde stood up off of the bench as she energetically answered, "Oh, oh! Me! Every good soldier needs a helmet! I mean, without one, their hair would get all messed up on the battlefield." She beamed at Chris as she sat back down next to Courtney, who laughed quietly a bit at her answer

Chris slapped his forehead in exasperation, then waved it at the campers desperately.

Brick's hand shot up and Chris gained some hope in his eyes. The brick-house's answer, though, would kill it just as quickly.

"Easy! A good soldier needs a good pair of polished boots! That's what my drill sergeant always says!" The cadet crossed his arms and closed his eyes proudly.

Chris stomped his foot, "Noooo! You kids are no fun, you know that? I go through all of this just for you and you feed me these joke answers." He turned around a bit, holding his head to the corners of his hair as his left eye watered a bit, "It's unprofessional."

Chef's boots could be heard against the hardwood floor as he walked out of the kitchen towards Chris. He stopped right next to the host and proclaimed loudly, "The one thing that every good soldier needs is a good plan! That is why you'll be making battle plans as teams today! Defending your own team's forts and attacking the other team's forts." The cook then noticed the tear in Chris's eye and raised an eyebrow.

"Are you crying, Chris man?"

Chris could be heard sniffling as his right hand rubbed his face and he turned around with lightning-speed, letting out a fake laugh as he glanced at the teams.

"Always the comedian, Chef. I wasn't crying. It was just those onions that you cooked up with those eggs you made. Now c'mon campers! Follow me to the middle of the campground! I'll explain the details of the challenge there!" He motioned are them to follow him with his left arm as he marched outside of the mess hall.

Chef blinked as the campers grumbled and tossed their trays in the trash bin, forming a steady stream heading outside.

"But I didn't use any onions in the eggs."

* * *

(Middle of the Campgrounds)

Chris now stood in front of the flagpole as Chef rolled a giant map in on wheels to the spot next to him. The host motioned to the map as the campers stood in a disorganized crowd in front of him.

"Do you see these giant gray dots in the forest? How three of them have a green outline and three have a red outline?"

The contestants nodded along, some beginning to find out where this was going.

"These three with the red outline signify forts held by the Killer Sharks. These three with the green outline signify forts held by the Screaming Bears."

Chris clapped his hands together and began rubbing them against each other, "Teams, your job is to successfully hold all of your forts and to also take over all three of the opposing team's forts. The first team to do this will not have to eliminate anyone today."

He then motioned with an uncaring hand towards Chef Hatchet, "Chef here will now explain to you what constitutes "taking over" another team's fort."

Chef Hatchet stepped menacingly closer to Chris and gave the campers a harsh look, "Alright! So each of these forts has a large bell hanging in them! To successfully take over an enemy fort, you must not only kick out any enemy forces, but you must ring this bell as well to show your victory. If the enemy retakes their fort, they must ring the bell to show that they have control back. A team needs control of all six forts to win!" He then stepped back.

Chris craned his head around to the campers and smiled, "Alright campers. When I blow the air horn, the competition will officially start. I'll leave you 10 minutes beforehand to figure out who you are assigning to which tasks and to get your defending teammates into your forts. Any questions before we begin?"

Dead silence met him. He blinked before his smile widened, "Well, that's a first. I hate it when contestants won't shut up." He shot incognito looks to Ezekiel and Lightning specifically as he whistled.

* * *

The Killer Sharks huddled up a few feet away from Chris, Alejandro making sure that they weren't close enough to the Screaming Bears to be overhears. When he shot his teammates a thumbs up, they began strategizing.

"Alright, so who wants to be on defense duty? Because I know that I'd be helpful on the frontline. Everybody falls before this luscious body," Leshawna swung her butt around a bit pridefully as she laid one of her hands down onto her hip.

Ezekiel shot her a weirded-out glance, "What does your butt have to do with taking the Bears out, eh?"

Leshawna grinned at the boy, "Trust me, Zeke. When I get swinging around, people go running."

Alejandro, the de facto team leader, cleared his throat awkwardly, "Alright then, Leshawna wants to go on the offensive. Anyone else want to volunteer to go capture one of the other forts?"

Eva raised her hand, not surprisingly. She mashed her fist into her other open hand, "I'm stronger than any of you are. And I love war games." She grinned widely, a sight not usually seen, "I'll be damned if I don't get to go out there and have some fun terrorizing those Bears."

Cody's hand shot up now, "I-I want to go on the offense too! I've picked up some fighting tricks since World Tour. I'm sure I could help take over one of the forts."

Trent, who stood beside the short boy, cocked his eyebrow at this.

Alejandro looked at Cody, sizing him up. He then turned toward the others, "Well? What do you guys think?"

Cody sent pleading eyes to everyone else. He looked like a puppy from one of those animal charity commercials.

Trent rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, "I think we should let him go. The guy deserves a chance."

Cody shot him some finger guns with half-open eyes.

Ezekiel, not wanting to ruffle any feathers, agreed reluctantly, "The Zeke doesn't think that it's a terrible idea."

Scott, whose legs were aching from all of the running he did in the challenges yesterday and from his search for an immunity idol that morning, agreed completely to get out of doing it himself, "Yeah, I think we should let the geek there do it. After all, he seems to have some guts."

Alejandro sighed, not wanting to do it but seeming to have no choice now, "Alright, Cody will also be on the offensive. I personally think that we should have two on each fort, which means we need another person to try to take down the enemy."

They looked around at each other.

Scott spoke up, "How about Mike? After all, he can shift into one of his freaky friends and handle whoever the Bears leave behind easy."

Gwen agreed, slightly slouched over with her arms crossed, "Not a bad idea. I know that I'm not fit to do it."

As some of the others began warming up to the idea, Mike noticeably got very nervous.

"Uh, I, uh, can't do it! All of my personalities are sleeping in my head and I'm too scrawny for physical things," he began laughing as his eyes shifted desperately.

"Is that really how it works? They sleep in your head," Trent asked him, a bit confused.

"Uh, y-y-yeahhh. They won't come out right now."

Scott eyed him skeptically for a few moments as Mike failed to meet anyone's eyes, "Fine then. How about brick-house over here? He's gotta know some stuff about taking over forts."

Most of their eyes landed on the cadet, who saluted them, "I wish that I could, comrades. But I know even more about reinforcing defenses. I feel like I would be of more use there."

Eva rolled her eyes, "This isn't getting us anywhere! How about homeschool?"

Ezekiel squeaked as attention fell onto him now, "W-what?"

Leshawna stepped in beside him, looking at Eva confusedly, "Yeah, what? White boy here is as scrawny as they come. How would he take a fort alone?"

Alejandro's eyes glinted as he recalled something, "Why, yes! This is a great idea, Eva! Ezekiel was just telling me yesterday about how agile and strong he is from the time that he was feral."

Ezekiel stuttered, now feeling betrayed as his gray eyes met Alejandro's green ones, "Uhh, b-but—"

Alejandro put his arm around the prairie boy, looking at him sympathetically, "Don't worry Zeke. I'm sure you'll do just fine. After all, you won us the challenge yesterday!"

Ezekiel's eyes flew to his other teammates. All of them seemed sold on the idea except one.

* * *

**CONFESSIONAL:**

**Leshawna:** "You cannot tell me that Alejandro doesn't have some sort of plan after he snaked up around Zeke like that! He's up to something." She narrowed her eyes at the camera, "And I've gotta stop him."

* * *

The Screaming Bears had a bit of an easier time deciding their plan.

"Alright, so, as team leader, I say that Duncan, Justin, and Lightning should try to capture the other forts while the rest of us play defense," Heather stood authoritatively in front of her team, swishing her hair as she told them her battle plan.

Courtney grumbled, "Stop calling yourself our leader. Nobody even likes you anymore." Heather tactfully ignored her as she looked expectantly at the three boys she had named.

Lightning threw a fist into the air, "Lightning is in! He'll take two forts on his own, easy!" The braggart received several annoyed stares from his less physically-inclined teammates, but none of them said anything because they didn't want to play offense.

Duncan shrugged at her, "Alright. I'm not complaining. I've scaled plenty of walls before, so why would this be any different?"

Justin opened his mouth to complain before seeing all eyes on him, looking expectant. His head fell a little as he leaned his chin down against his hand, "Fine. I'll do it. But I want you to know that I'll hold you personally responsible if this body is injured, Heather! My body is a temple, not a battering ram."

Noah groaned, "Enough about your body. We get it, you look better than any of us ugly saps ever could."

Justin glared at the bookworm as some of the others chuckled at his expense, notably Duncan.

"You know, if you keep up the witty remarks, I could get to like you, bookworm," Duncan threw an arm around Noah as he smirked down at him.

"That's great. I'll add that to my list of personal accomplishments."

* * *

(Killer Sharks Fort 1: Alejandro and Scott)

"Woooow, this place is giant!"

Alejandro rolled his eyes as he sat down in one of the simple cushion chairs that they had found in their medieval-style stone fort. Scott had been running around admiring the place since they had gotten there. It was getting a bit annoying.

"Could you please be a bit more quiet, Scott? I'm sort of trying to relax here before someone like Eva shows up and starts banging on the doors."

Scott came back downstairs with a tray of wings and a root beer. He plopped down next to Alejandro and sighed happily. The Spaniard questioned him, "Where did you get that? Did Chris install fridges in these forts?"

Scott cracked the can of root beer open and looked quite smugly at Alejandro, "Oh, so nooow you want me to start talking?"

"Don't play these childish games, Scott. They are quite beneath you."

Scott scowled, "You have no idea what's beneath me, lover boy. I saw what you did in season 3 of this show. And you probably saw what I did last season. Let's cut the pretenses." He leaned back lazily in his uncomfortable chair.

Alejandro glanced over at the red-haired boy curiously, "I have no idea to what you are referring, amigo. I've repented for my past sins on this show. I suggest you do the same if you want to stick around."

Scott laughed a bit as he dug into his food, "Yeah right. I have nothing to be sorry for. Nothing that I did was personal. And those "fine people" didn't seem like such humanitarians when I was put in a paralysis chair by Fang."

Alejandro looked skeptical.

Suddenly, both boys heard banging on the stone wall behind them. They whirled around to hear the familiar voice of Duncan, "Hey boys! I brought a house guest with me!"

A shark fin hovered at the top of the wall, moving steadily across it before dipping out of site near one of the fort's corners. Alejandro's eyes widened in fright. He slowly looked over to his teammate to gauge his reaction.

Scott screamed, "F-F-F-FANNNNNNNNGGGGGG!"

Alejandro watched hopelessly as Scott ran around frantically in chaotic circles, flailing his arms in the air as he screamed bloody murder. And he certainly wasn't consoled when a large shark tooth clattered against the floor of their fort, having been tossed over the wall from the outside.

Scott ran as far away from the tooth as he possibly could in the closed-off fort, which meant that the farm boy shot up the winding staircase and up into the top tower of the fort. Alejandro stood up and ran after him, "Scott! Scott! We have to guard the fort! You must calm down, amigo!"

This chaos was music to Duncan's ears. The delinquent put his hand on his forehead as he leaned back and laughed uncontrollably outside of the doors of the Killer Shark fort. Next to him laid a giant stick with a fake shark fine attached to it with a vine.

* * *

**CONFESSIONAL:**

**Duncan:** The punk has a wide smile that threatened to overtake his whole face as he slouched over heavily, "It was quite easy, actually. As soon as I peeked over the wall and saw that shark boy was on duty, I knew that all I had to do to get him and the snake-oil salesman out of the fort was freak him out. And luckily for me, I'm quite resourceful."

He smirked as he pulled his signature pocket-knife out of his pocket and twirled it in his left hand, "All I had to do was carve a shark tooth out of some wood I found. Then I carved a shark fin and attached it to a big stick. Child's play when you've been causing mischief for as long as I have."

* * *

(Deep in the Forest)

Eva marched through the forest of Wawanakwa, eyes focused on the path ahead as she tried to recall exactly where Chris's map had located Fort #3 of the Screaming Bears.

Cody trailed behind her, trying to make small-talk.

The tech geek twiddled his fingers as Eva forged on ahead, "So...that trailer is mighty nice, isn't it?"

Eva didn't answer, too focused on the task at hand.

Cody tried again, "What kind of workouts have you been getting up to? Your arms definitely look a lot bigger than the last time I saw you." The small boy chuckled a bit, "I've been going to the gym lately, but I haven't seen many gains yet. Got any super secret fitness tricks?"

He heard the fit girl faintly grumble something and cursed that his ears weren't attentive enough to decipher it.

"What was that you said? Something about curl-ups?"

Eva stopped for a moment as he caught up to her, glancing at Cody out of the corner of her eye.

"What do you want from me?"

Cody blinked, seeming to be thoughtful for a few seconds before he let out a tiny laugh, "What do you mean, Eva? The Codemeister is just trying to make some small-talk with a beautiful lady." He clicked his tongue confidently as his turquoise eyes relaxed in a flirty way.

Eva let out an uncharacteristic hearty laugh at this from deep in her chest, "I don't see where that dame of yours is, "Codemeister", but I hope that she'll help us win this challenge."

Cody frowned a bit as Eva laughed at him before cracking a suave smile (at least as suave as Cody could manage) and shot finger guns at her as they grew nearer to the enemy fort, "Why, I was talking about you, my muscular goddess."

She shot an annoyed look at him from underneath her un-yielding unibrow.

"Who do you think you're punking, kid? I know I'm not attractive, inside or out. Heck, I've got bigger muscles than you do." Her voice was cold and uncaring, but Cody could sense a bit of emotion buried deep, deep down in there. He just needed to lure it out. And if there was anything that could be said of Cody Anderson, it was that he was persistent.

He grabbed Eva's arm and stopped her from walking temporarily, looking into her amber eyes with his turquoise ones, "The Codemeister loves all ladies, Eva. And he likes the strong ones especially."

Eva almost seemed dazed for a moment before she shook her head lightly and shoved his hand off. She began walking again with the tech geek slightly behind her, "I know that you like anything with a skirt. Everyone knows! Everyone saw you desperately chase after Gwen for so long." She cocked her unibrow slightly, puzzled, as she shot him a backwards glance, "Which brings me to the important question here: why are you using your lame flirting tactics on me instead of the goth?"

Cody flinched a bit at the question and brushed his shirt a bit absentmindedly. His head drooped a bit, "I'll never get Gwen. I've accepted that. Heck, she doesn't even really like me as a friend. Didn't care at all that Sierra was harassing me for all of season 3. Nobody did." He looked up at Eva hopefully, "But now that I don't have to deal with Sierra anymore, I appreciate my freedom a lot more than I used to. And I've realized that I need to be stronger to prove myself a worthy competitor! I'm not floating this season like I did last time!"

Eva's expression remained vacant and neutral, "Alright then, but why're you hitting on me? I'm not feminine whatsoever. Lots of people mistake me for a guy."

Cody smiled a bit nervously, knowing that he was playing a dangerous game here, "Well, I admire strong girls. You know that. And you might have been a bit...rough around the edges before, but Zeke told me how you apologized to him last night and I figured that I might try to get to know you a bit."

Eva's eyes narrowed dangerously as she raised her voice, "You mean to tell me that homeschool blabbed about what I told him last night?!"

Cody's eyes widened in panic as veins popped out on Eva's neck and she began clenching her fists.

Before she could do anything rash, he grabbed her arm. She looked down at him, anger sizzling in her eyes. He didn't back down, though, and stared right back, "Don't blame Zeke. He's an alright guy, it turns out. Just like you're an alright gal."

Eva gave him a vacant look as she began walking again, him following.

"Stop talking to me, if you know what's good for you. I know that you're only after my body. Guys don't like rage beasts like me."

An awkward silence reigned between the two for a few minutes as Cody lost his resolve in the face of Eva's calm yet deadly command.

That is, of course, until they finally spotted the fort that they were after only a few minutes later.

Eva examined it, noting that, though it was mostly made of stone, the door to said fort was made out of simple wood. A smirk crossed her face as she got an idea.

Cody frowned a bit nervously as he saw the smirk gracing the face of the girl with anger management issues.

"H-how are we going to get inside?"

* * *

(Outside of Killer Sharks Fort 3: Brick and Mike)

Lightning gazed up at the massive stone fort, taking in the big tower that rose up out of the moderately-sized rectangular stone structure. He pumped his fists as he saw how close the walls were to the ground.

"Sha-easy! I'll just scale the wall and strike those losers inside with Lightning!"

Lightning ran up to one of the stone walls, digging his fingers into the grooves between each stone, slowly pulling himself up inch by inch until he reached the top.

The athlete began sweating a bit as he wiped his forehead off with one of his arms. He looked down at the sweat disapprovingly, "No way! Lightning never sweats! Winners don't have time to sweat!"

His left hand grasped at the top of the stone wall, gripping down hard around the top stone, only to meet a bit of a nasty surprise.

"Sha-owwwwww," Lightning yelled as he fell painfully off of the stone wall, landing on the ground as dust flew up around him. He looked at his hand, only to see small puncture marks in the middle of it. He painfully plucked at the wounded areas, identifying the sharp things as thorns. He then finally payed attention to the top of the stone walls.

They were lined completely and throughly with thorny vines.

Lightning gritted his teeth as he heard Mike and Brick laughing on the inside of the fort.

"You see Mike, I told you that they would fall for it. It's a great defensive strategy!" Brick could be heard proudly saying to Mike.

"Oh c'mon Brick, we both know that the only reason that it worked is because Lightning is the one out there."

Lightning punched the ground next to him in anger.

"How dare you make fun of Lightning! He's no loser! He's no fool! I'll show everyone that I'm a winner!" He shook his fist in the air as he looked determinedly at the sky.

* * *

(Somewhere in the Forest)

Ezekiel walked alone through the woods, his hands in his hoodie pockets as he followed a path back to the campgrounds.

The prairie boy had already located the fort that he needed to storm. It was located near the north edge of the island near the water. And the Bears defending it were none other than Heather and Zoey.

He shuddered as his mind drifted to Heather. When he had gone crazy in season 3, he had ended up destroying Heather's earned prize money in the finale by bringing it into a volcano with him. He didn't quite remember this, of course, but he had seen reruns of it on TV after his recovery.

He held his head in shame as he walked alone, his mind swimming with regret and guilt. He had never liked Heather much, that much he did remember, but she hadn't deserved to have all of her hard work flushed down the toilet, or, more accurately, thrown into the volcano.

Then there was Zoey. Like the other competitors of season 4, she had encountered Ezekiel in his feral state, hiding in the toxic mines as he commanded an army of mutant gophers. When he had watched that particular episode, he had winced and pulled his toque down at the thought that the gophers he had commanded nearly killed some of the contestants, including the innocent redhead with cute pigtails.

He had wanted to find a way to apologize eventually. After all, some of his fellow competitors weren't quite scared of him anymore. He had gotten along well with Alejandro, Scott, Leshawna, Cody, and Brick so far. He just knew that he could win more of them over if he could manage to stick around in the game long enough.

Ezekiel, as everyone knew, was always kicked off of the show first. It was his gimmick. It was his curse. It had happened in both Total Drama Island and Total Drama World Tour, and he had dreadfully expected it to happen again when his contract forced him to return for Total Drama Wars.

But it hadn't. Ezekiel had won the first challenge for his team, in fact. It was the first time in a while that he had actually felt useful in some capacity.

And he wasn't going to let that feeling slip away. Once he had located the Screaming Bears fort, he had easily managed to crawl over the wall and down it again, dropping down right behind the unsuspecting girls. He knew he could overpower them, as he had gained quite some muscle and agility from his times of living as an animal.

The problem was that Heather had apparently brought a purse with her to the fort, and it had a full can of pepper spray within it.

His eyes still somewhat burned as he recalled getting into a battle stance only to have her spray him directly in the eyes with that vile stuff. Zoey had quickly opened the doors and he had fled, clutching his face as he ran in the direction of a nearby river.

He had wondered for a time as he sat lazily by the river what he could do to counteract Heather's secret weapon. And then it had hit him as the sun flashed him brightly in his eyes.

It was then that he had come up with the idea to go grab his poppin' shades from his cabin back at camp.

They would shield his eyes from Heather's assault, allowing the strong prairie boy to quickly make good work of both girl defenders and take the fort in the name of his team.

He smiled as he walked through a clearing and saw the campground in the distance. He quickly rushed over to the Killer Sharks cabin to grab his sunglasses. And maybe his bling. He wanted to look good for his heroic moment.

* * *

(Screaming Bears Fort 2: Noah and Harold)

Noah flipped through the pages of his LoTR book as Harold reclined near him, making his way through a comic book instead.

Things were perfectly silent and peaceful. As it should be. Noah had a nice book and a nice, quiet acquaintance near him just in case he ever felt like talking.

Which he didn't.

Unfortunately, that hadn't stopped Harold.

"You know, these forts are cool and all, but I like vitrified fortresses much more. Not only do they not rely on flimsy materials that can be easily broke like cement, but they're also more structurally secure despite how heat is said to weaken foundations between stones."

Noah tried to ignore him as he brought his book closer to his face, hoping that Harold would catch the hint. He didn't.

"I also like how they were considered to be native to Scotland. That's where my family is from, actually. It's nice to think that my ancestors could've holed up in stone fortresses like that as they fought off invaders like the Anglo-Saxons."

Noah's eye twitched a bit as he felt a biting sarcastic remark just waiting on his lips.

"Speaking of invaders, my favorite historical figure is probably Genghis Khan. Not only did that guy spend his teen years as a slave, but he also became an accomplished leader in his early 20s. I kinda aspire to be like him," Harold rambled on, not noticing how annoying these random trains of thought were to the cynical bookworm that he was sharing the fort with.

He continued, "Did you know that scientists estimate that nearly 16 million people in the world today are related to him in some way? I couldn't imagine having that many descendants that looked up to me and what I did with my life." He scratched his head a bit, "I'm not really sure what I wanna be yet. I'm passionate about so many things, and I'm skilled in lots of different fields."

Noah took a cushion from underneath his chair and pressed it into his face, screaming into it as Harold rambled on ignorantly.

Suddenly, both of them felt a slight tremor in their fort. Harold's speech was interrupted as he stopped cold, looking around them at the stone walls as they shook.

Noah removed the cushion from his face and actually looked genuinely confused for once, "What is happening? Is the island facing an earthquake?"

At that moment, the wooden door to their fort fell inward, dust settling on the opening where it used to be, a shadowy figure standing there with a hand on its curvy hip.

Harold gasped as he recognized the curves and the ponytail. It was Leshawna!

Noah groaned as he caught sight of her. Of all people, honestly.

Leshawna dropped a large log at her feet, shooting a dazzling smile at the pair of defenders.

"So, sugars," she charmingly said with a victorious grin on her face, "Are y'all gonna give up now or is Leshawna gonna have to throw you out?"

* * *

**CONFESSIONAL:**

**Noah:** He looked at the camera with deeply bitter eyes, "Where the heck did she even get a log that big? It was basically a big battering ram, wrapped up in a ribbon just for her!"

 **Harold:** The nerd looked conflicted for a moment, "Leshawna looked so dazzling when she broke down that door. Like a goddess returning to Earth."

He smiled happily, trapped in a daze for a few moments before he snapped out of it, "But I can't get sucked into that again! I've gotta defend my fort against her! And she doesn't want me." He looked saddened at this last sentence.

* * *

(Back at the Campground)

Chris and Chef Hatchet can be seen reclining in comfortable-looking leather chairs out in the middle of the campground as a large TV screen showed them images from all of the forts and from different areas of the forest between said forts. Chef took a sip of his exotic drink as he raised an eyebrow at seeing Leshawna break down a fort door so easily.

"Hey Chris, where you you think Leshawna found that large log? I mean, we haven't downed any trees lately, and I didn't think there were any animals that would do that on the island anymore."

Chris laughed a bit as he also took a sip of his drink, setting it down on the cup holder next to him, "Don't you worry about it, Chef my man. I'll find out."

The host clapped his hands swiftly and roughly. A brunette intern in a red shirt quickly ran up to his side.

"Intern! Where did Leshawna get that giant log?"

The intern stammered nervously a bit at the harsh tone that Chris used, "Uhhh, I think that she got it from the eastern edge of the island, sir. We've seen some carnivorous beavers from Boney Island over there lately. I think they've been swimming over."

Chef spat out his drink with wide eyes as Chris began looking very uncomfortable.

* * *

(Killer Sharks Fort 2: Gwen and Trent)

Trent shuffled around a bit in the fort's fridge, his head sticking in it as he examined all of the different varieties of food with hunger plainly visible in his green eyes.

"Hey Gwen, you want any food?!"

He waited for a response from the room next door, but was disappointed to find an awakened silence hang over the doorway. He sighed as he grabbed himself a Pepsi and a cup of apple sauce and Gwen a Sprite.

He walked hesitantly into the fort's main room, setting Gwen's Sprite down next to her chair as she doodled in her sketch book. He sat down in a nearby chair awkwardly, tearing open his cup of apple sauce and deciding to dig in.

With Trent out of her immediate sight, Gwen spared a sideways glance at the Sprite that he had gotten for her. A small smile tugged at her lips as she placed one of her drawing pencils down and cracked open the tab and took a sip.

"Thanks, Trent..."

His green eyes glance her way, "No problem..."

An awakened silence falls upon them again, until Trent has enough of the tension.

"So...how have you been since season 3?"

Gwen's lips pursed a bit as her eyes rocked in her head. She dribbled her hands lightly on her sketch book, "Uh, I've been doing really good, actually. Things are pretty great right now."

Anybody else would've taken it at face-value. Anyone who didn't know Gwen like Trent did, that is. He almost believed her words, but he heard a bit of something in the edge of her voice. Perhaps guilt? Sadness?

He cleared his throat a bit as he finally became brave enough to turn his head toward the girl who had broken his heart in season 2.

"I can tell that you're lying to me. I can hear it in your voice. I know you, Gwen. So what's wrong?"

Gwen closed her eyes at the feeling that the musician was now watching her.

"You don't know me, Trent. You knew me. There's a big difference."

Trent's frown deepened as a mixture of emotions became visible in his eyes. He didn't know quite what to say to that.

"Look, I'm with Duncan now. It's great. He comes to visit every now and then and we have fun together. I have my mom and my brother to support me. It's all I really need." Gwen's voice sounded slightly solemn.

Trent stared at the gray stone wall in front of him as he pondered that.

An idea struck him, "Are you upset about how people that saw season 3 treat you?"

Gwen put her face into her hands as her hands began roaming her blue and black hair, messing it up slightly.

After a few seconds of this, the goth sighed and finally turned to face Trent, her eyes looking to be on the verge of watering and sadness plain on her face.

"Alright, you win."

She took a deep breath before beginning, "Getting with Duncan is one of the best things that happened to me on this show. Besides, well, you know."

Trent rubbed his hands together as he stared at the ground, listening to Gwen.

"But I lost a friend of mine by doing it. And now, everywhere I go, people know me only as the "Boyfriend Kisser of Total Drama."

She banged her hands on her chair's armrests as she began looking bitter, "I did so much good on this show! I made so many friends! People were upset with me after Total Drama Action, but I was forgiven when I went home!"

Trent's eyes softened in a kind of familiar sadness, "But...they just didn't give you a chance to explain. They got mad at you for what you did and didn't even try to understand why you had done it."

Gwen grew silent at his words, wincing a bit as she looked at the expression on Trent's face. The musician was looking at the stone wall as if to inspect all of its crevices and qualities, his head drooping downward a bit as his hands lay sadly hanging at his sides, his chair's armrests forgotten.

She found that, for the first time in awhile, she didn't know what to say.

"You know, Gwen, I got the same treatment after Total Drama Action ended."

Gwen swallowed some bile that was threatening to rise into her throat.

"Everybody would see me and say, "Look! There's the crazy guy who was betrayed by his girlfriend and kicked off of Total Drama for being too creepy!". They didn't care that I had an explanation for my actions. They didn't care how depressed I already was when I came back home." Trent traced the handprint on his shirt absentmindedly as he turned to look back at Gwen.

The goth girl looked really guilty now, "Well...I don't know what to say...I'm really sorry Trent. I guess I didn't see how what happened affected you. I should've defended you a bit more. I owed you at least that much after what I did."

Trent met her eyes, now with a genuine glow to them, "...Do you really mean it, Gwen? You still care?"

Gwen bit her lip a bit, just knowing that this would get her into trouble later, "Of course, Trent! I'll always care about you. I know that what happened wasn't entirely your fault. I'm only sorry that we couldn't have parted on better terms."

His eyes lightened up as he stood up out of his chair and as she did the same. They walked to the middle of the room and hugged tightly.

"So...friends now? I've really missed you if I'm being honest."

Gwen chuckled a bit, "Sure thing, big guy. I've missed you a lot too. But let's keep the hugging to a minimum after this."

Trent smirked, "What? Duncan insecure about losing you? That seems familiar to me, somehow."

They parted and laughed together, now sporting wide smiles as they looked at each other and pulled their chairs closer together.

Gwen began showing Trent some of her newest sketches, talking about the metaphorical meanings of them passionately as he listened, happy that they were back on good terms.

Something moved at the top of the wall. Trent saw it with the corner of his eye. When he craned his head to look, however, nothing was there.

The musician shrugged and began listening to Gwen again.

Outside of the fort, Justin crouched as he looked at his phone, smiling evilly.

"Well, well. I'm sure Duncan won't be happy when he sees this." The male model's phone-screen was shown, revealing a picture of Gwen and Trent hugging tightly inside of the fort. He used his finger to swipe, revealing another of them staring into each other's eyes and smiling widely at each other.

He gripped his cheeks with his hands and let out a fake gasp, "Gosh, I sure hope that nobody shows it to him! That would just be diabolical!"

He laughed a bit as he put his phone into his pocket, "Alright, now I only need to find a way inside of the fort."

He tapped his forehead in thought for a few seconds before he got a perfect idea.

The male model brought a can of his hairspray out from one of his back pockets.

"Oh yeah, they won't know what hit them."

* * *

(Somewhere in the Forest)

Ezekiel, fresh in his sunglasses and bling, was walking through the forest again, now headed back to where he had spotted the Bears' fort before.

He hummed happily as he began thinking about how beautiful nature was. Well, beautiful now that it wasn't infected with toxic waste. He had seen what this place looked like when their were mutant animals running around it, and he was surprised that his feral side had survived all of those dangers.

As the prairie boy wandered back to the fort, a small brown gopher could be seen watching him quite intently from the side of a tree.

But Ezekiel didn't notice as he gained a bit of confidence, "I'll take Heather and Zo'oey out in a flash, eh! Then, the team'll know that The Zeke's win last challenge wasn't a fluke!

The boy had gotten so focused on fantasizing that he didn't notice a root that was pulled out in his path. His left foot fell victim to it soon enough, tripping the prairie boy and leaving him sprawled on the ground.

He got up on his knees, brushing himself off and sighing.

Suddenly, he saw a brown gopher pop up next to him, seeming to squeak at him with a worshipping look on its face.

Ezekiel didn't know quite what to do about this, "Uhhh, what is it, little fella'? Do'o ya want some food, eh?"

The gopher acted wounded dramatically before digging his hand (or, more accurately, paw) into the tiny hole that he had tunneled to Zeke in.

Ezekiel watched as the gopher dug his paw around in the hole for a few seconds before grasping something. The gopher's eyes lit up as it pulled out an old and tattered photo.

Ezekiel's heart started beating loudly as he gazed at the picture that the gopher held. It was an autographed photo of him! The photo showed him in front of his farm, his shades and bling on as he showed it off, smiling.

Ezekiel took the photo from the gopher, who gladly ceded it to the prairie boy. He studied it for a few seconds before looking at the gopher again.

"So'o you were in tho'ose mines with me?"

The gopher nodded and began squeaking again in a language that Ezekiel didn't claim to understand. At least he didn't claim to understand it anymore. He didn't know whether he had been able to speak to them before.

Ezekiel scratches his head a bit, "So'o why are ya appro'oaching me no'ow? I'm not exactly a great leader anymore, eh."

Other gophers now popped up around him, forming almost a circle as they looked happily at him in recognition.

The first gopher to approach Zeke pointed at the fort in the distance. It was then that Ezekiel understood.

"You guys want t'a help me take the fort?"

The gophers all nodded enthusiastically. Ezekiel grew a bit of a wide smile as he ruffled the fur on two of their heads.

"I'm glad I met you guys again! Let's go sho'ow tho'ose girls who is king, eh!"

The gophers let out a battle cry as they all got into threatening stances and stared toward the fort.

Ezekiel started stammering, "But not because they're girls, eh! Because they're on the other team, so I have t'a thro'ow them out of the fort."

One of the gophers slapped its forehead at Ezekiel's defensive stammering. It then pulled on his pant leg and pointed aggressively at the fort.

Ezekiel let out a wicked smile, "You're right, eh! Let's just go'o do'o it!"

"HOMIES! ASSEMBLE!"

The gophers all screeched and jumped back into the ground, leaving clear dirt trails everywhere as they approached the fort with great speed. Ezekiel sprinted around the fort, his hands ready to crawl over the wall again.

Inside, Heather used her nail file somewhat carelessly. Zoey sat nearby, occupying herself with some food because she hadn't thought to bring anything to entertain her thoughts.

The queen bee had made it quite clear that she didn't want to talk. Zoey was still slightly scared of the raven haired girl. After all, she had watched every season of Total Drama and, due to that, knew that Heather tended to last pretty long in the game.

Some of the people that she had it out for, on the other hand, didn't always last long.

This kept Zoey silent.

Or at least it did, before she saw gophers hopping out of the ground at her feet.

Zoey screamed, alerting Heather that something was wrong. The gophers quickly outnumbered the two girls, jumping on Zoey as Heather tried to flee, only to trip over her fold-out chair.

Heather stared at the gophers with slight fear as they approached her with nasty looks, one of them punching their fist in anticipation as they jumped on her.

Once those gophers had the two girls trapped, they let out high-pitched squeaks pointed back near the holes that they had ambushed the fort from. Several more gophers came out of these holes, holding plenty of vines in their tiny clawed-hands.

As the girls were tied up with vines by the gophers, Heather spotted a familiar figure jumping down from the side of the wall, apparently having climbed in once again.

"You prairie rat! I demand that you and your little army of mole rats let us go immediately!"

Zoey just looked nervously at the newcomer.

Ezekiel smiled at Heather and Zoey, his bling shining in the sun, "Hey no'ow, this is strictly business, homies."

Both of them momentarily forgot what was happening and rolled their eyes at his failed attempt to sound cool and macho.

* * *

(Screaming Bears Fort 2: Noah and Harold)

Harold got into a complicated karate pose as Leshawna narrowed her eyes at him.

"I don't want to hurt you Leshawna. These fists are fury. Give up and leave our fortress quietly."

Leshawna smirked at him, "Bring it on, Harold baby!"

He let out a loud battle screech and ran toward her, trying to karate chop her in the side as she swung her hips, her butt colliding with him and making him crash into the wall.

"Ouch," Harold whispered as he fell on the ground, a bit dazed.

Leshawna smiled and started brushing her hands off in victory.

Then Noah struck.

The bookworm jumped onto the large sister's back, grabbing her arms in an iron-tight grip as he held on ferociously.

Leshawna, as would anyone in this situation, panicked. She began swinging her body everywhere, desperate to get the bookworm off of her back.

But Noah held on tightly as he was swung around like he was riding a bucking bull at a rodeo. He looked at the downed Harold, "Harold! We only need to stall for 5 more minutes! Do something!"

This was when Leshawna began getting smarter about the situation. She backed up near one of the fort's stone walls and began flinging her back, or rather Noah's back, backwards into one of them.

Noah let out whimpers and moans of pain as he was crushed repeatedly between Leshawna and the wall.

"Give it up, egghead! I can do this all day!" Leshawna taunted him as she kept crushing him against the stone wall, knowing that Noah was probably at his wit's end.

Little did she know that Harold, who she had figured was down for the count, had stealthily crawled over to her on the ground. As she rested back from the wall, preparing to throw Noah back into it once again, his lanky arm shot out, grabbing her left foot and unsteadily shaking it.

Leshawna's eyes widened as she fell forward into the hard ground, Noah's scrawny and beaten body on top of her.

"Timber," Noah yelled as Leshawna fell to the ground, looking really dazed after she hit it.

Harold, who was still laying stomach-first on the ground, shot him a smile and a thumbs up. Noah returned it as he groaned in pain.

"Alright, now let's pick her up and throw her out of here before she comes to her senses. Or at least what little senses she has."

Harold got up quickly, grabbing Leshawna's lower half and straining to pick her up, his lanky arms visibly struggling heavily to lift the large girl. Noah wearily got up and grabbed her shoulders, also struggling to lift her.

Together, they barely managed to carry her right outside of the door to their fort. As they dropped her on the ground, Noah's eyes seemed to gain focus.

"Quick! We need to get the log in here so that she can't use it again!"

Harold let out a squeak as they raced over to the log that Leshawna had broken into their fort with, throwing it inside as they closed the door and locked it once again.

Harold looked pridefully at Noah as they sat back down, the bookworm going immediately for his book.

"You and I make a great team, you know?"

For the first time since they had arrived at the fort, Noah let a small smile grace his face.

"Yeah, I guess we do."

* * *

(Killer Sharks Fort 1: Alejandro and Scott)

Alejandro sighed heavily in relief as he had finally gotten his teammate to calm down. They both walked down the winding staircase of their tower down into their simple stone fort, Alejandro's hands comfortingly around Scott's shoulders.

He bitterly wondered why he hadn't protested the pairing with Scott when his team had decided who would defend which fort. At the time, Alejandro had figured that Scott would be about as useful in the challenge as any of the others.

Boy, had he been wrong.

After that whole shark scare, Scott had ran up into the stone tower that laid inside of their fort and refused to come down for ages. It had taken all of Alejandro's charm to even convince the farm boy that they could both go and look downstairs over the wall to see if Fang really was out there.

Downstairs, Duncan had been a bit busy though, unbeknownst to the Spaniard and the farmer.

When he had spotted them both heading upstairs into their tower, he had pounced on the chance to fulfill the next phase of his plan.

The punk had quickly vaulted over the stone walls, landing quietly on the ground inside. He had taken only a quick look around before opening the door to the fort, flinging it open to make it seem like something had broken in.

When he spotted the fake shark tooth that he had thrown inside of the fort before, he smirked. It wasn't exactly necessary, but what the heck, he loved to put on a good show.

The punk scooped up the shark tooth from where it laid at the bottom of the tower's staircase, making sure not to alert any of the boys up there. He then tiptoed over to one of the foldout chairs in the main room and laid the shark tooth on it, muffling his mischievous laughter with one of his hands as his ears caught the sound of boots clanging against the stone staircase nearby.

Duncan quickly ran into the kitchen room of the fort, cursing silently that he hadn't had enough time to get out.

He watched silently as both boys entered the main room, only for both to be frozen in shock as they saw the swung-open door.

He couldn't resist pumping his fist as Scott screamed in terror and ran out of the fort way faster than Duncan would've ever guessed he could. Heh, people always underestimate what a bit of terror can do.

Alejandro walked slowly up to the open door, sighing as he watched his teammate run and disappear into the distance.

"Scott! You must come back! We need to guard the fort!"

Alejandro tapped his boot in annoyance as he pondered what to do. Should he go after Scott or stay here to defend the fort?

The Spaniard thought it over for a few moments before coming to a simple conclusion: he would stay here, only because his team wouldn't be able to blame him if they lost.

Unfortunately, his plan didn't get that far into motion, as Duncan snuck up behind him with a sturdy wooden club that he had carved outside just for this occasion. He grinned as he swung it at Alejandro's head, smacking the Spanish boy into the ground harshly.

"That'll teach you to double-cross me, pretty boy." Duncan grabbed the unconscious spaniard's shoulders and drug him outside. Once he was content with how everything had panned-out, the delinquent locked the door and went to ring the bell of the fort before going to raid the fort's fridge

"Oh man! This thing is loaded!" Duncan was in ecstasy at all of the delicious foods he saw inside.

He piled up several of the food items on his plate as he walked back into the fort's main room, smirking as he flopped down into one of the chairs. He then looked up briefly at the sun.

He squinted a bit, "Yep, I think I kept Egghead's timeline."

* * *

(Killer Sharks Fort 2: Gwen and Trent)

Gwen could be seen still showing Trent her sketchbook as she came upon one of her favorite drawings.

"You see this one?" She pointed a finger at it, "I drew it to show how I felt about this show actually, the different colors are to represent my emotions."

Trent opened his mouth to give some feedback, but sadly never got the chance, as an unwanted guest swung his way into their fort, knocking Trent out of his sitting position next to Gwen.

"Trent! Are you okay?!" Gwen shrieked in worry.

Justin smiled at the camera brilliantly before unveiling something from behind his back. It was a simple can of hairspray.

"Alright Gwen. Wanna make this easy for me? Will you give up now? You've got no chance alone against this great machine," He kissed his own bicep as Gwen glared at him.

Gwen made a move to tackle the male model, only for him to be ready, hairspray can in hand as he sprayed blindly at her approaching face.

"Ahhhhhhhh!" Gwen got hairspray in her eyes, and it burned like nothing she had ever felt before.

As Gwen ran around in a frenzy, hands clutching her burning eyes, Justin watched the spectacle with great amusement. That is, until he heard a slight sound come from behind him.

"Ahhhh!" Justin now screamed in surprise as he sprayed blindly behind him just in time to catch Trent, who had been sneaking up on the male model.

Trent screamed as well at the hairspray in his eyes, running around desperately looking for water and yet not being able to see.

Justin smiled as he walked slowly to the fort's door, opening it up gently as he smiled at the chaotic storm in front of him.

He placed a hand to his mouth, "Hey guys! There's a river near here! Just go straight until you reach it!"

If Gwen and Trent had been in their right minds, they might've realized what the devious model's plan was. But their eyes were burning and their minds could focus on little else in the moment.

The exes—now friends— ran screaming out of the fort and down the path that Justin had came in from, desperately looking for the river that Justin had spoken of.

Justin smiled evilly as he closed the door, locking it and looking around for the bell. His eyes caught it near where Gwen and Trent had been sitting. It looked polished and quite shiny in its golden glory.

The model rang the bell before comfortably laying down in Gwen's chair, using Trent's as a footrest. He sighed happily, "That was just too easy."

He then seemed to remember something as he, just as Duncan had before him, looked at where the sun was in the sky.

"Ehhhh, I think that's about right."

* * *

(Screaming Bears Fort 1: Heather and Zoey)

Zoey looked at all of the gophers worriedly as she heard a bell ring throughout their fort.

Heather groaned, "That redneck found the bell! What are we going to do now?!"

Zoey scrunched her face up as she thought of ways out of this. She gazed absentmindedly at the sun, which was nearly in position for their plan.

"Heather! I've got it! You just need to distract Ezekiel by talking about season 3! We only have a bit of time left until the sun is in position. If you can stall him from throwing us out of here, we could still win."

Heather's eyebrows raised, but she smirked at Zoey's plan, "You know, I might've misjudged you, new girl. That sounds just devious enough to work on that rat."

Zoey nervously laughed, a bit uncomfortable at the compliment by the queen bee, "Haha, thanks."

It was at this moment that Ezekiel entered the main room once again, carrying some wings in his arms as he grinned at his gopher army.

"I got some grub, homies! Just thro'ow the girls o'ot and we'll chow down, yo'o!"

The gophers all gathered around Heather and Zoey, picking the two up and carrying them overhead toward the fort's door.

Heather sweated a bit, "Wait! Ezekiel! Can't we talk about season 3 for a moment!?"

Ezekiel paused, snapping his fingers after a moment of consideration. The gophers stopped and stared back at their leader.

"I wo'od actually really like t'a talk abo'ot that, homie. The Zeke has some guilt t'a get off of his chest."

He sighed, pulling his toque down a bit over his face as he looked over at Heather, "I'm really so'orry, eh. I kno'ow that I messed up all 'a your hard work. I'm really ashamed of everything that happened that season."

He laughed a bit sadly as both girls looked surprisingly at him, "I do'on't really know what I figured would happen at the beginning 'a the season when I climbed back into the plane, eh. I guess I was just so'o determined t'a not be the first loser out again."

One of the gophers patted the boy's foot in sympathy. Zoey gasped a bit, "Y-you mean that's the reason why you were acting so obnoxious and why you refused to let go?"

Ezekiel looked at her with half-lidded eyes and a deep frown, "Yeah, eh. I thought that if I could stay determined like I had seen others like Heather and Gwen do'o, then maybe people would like me."

Heather scowled a bit as Zoey began looking more and more sympathetic to the prairie boy. She was supposed to distract him! Not the new girl! But Zoey kept him talking all the same, which Heather figured was pretty useful regardless of who did it.

"I know the exact feeling! I've been so lonely for most of my life." Zoey smiled at the prairie boy, "All I ever wanted was a friend back home, but none of them ever liked me. Guess I was just too different."

"But when I came onto this show, I learned that people are a bit different in other places. I made lots of new friends! And I even met the love of my life." Zoey blushed a bit as she talked about Mike.

Ezekiel listened intently, severely distracted.

* * *

(Killer Sharks Fort 3: Brick and Mike)

Lightning saluted the sky as he stood dangerously on a high tree limb, his eyes fixed on a vine in front of him.

"Alright! This is the time! Lightning will catch the vine this time!"

As it turned out, Lightning had the bright idea of swinging over the thorny vines at the top of the enemy fort using the vine in front of him. He had already tried to catch the vine by jumping from a nearby tree five times. It had ended painfully each prior attempt, but Lightning never gave up and never surrendered. It was his code.

He let out a war cry as he once again jumped off of the tree limb, his hands grasping desperately for the vine. He closed his eyes in prayer that he would catch it this time and was rewarded for it.

He opened his eyes and smiled widely, "Sha-Lightning is the man! Now I can beat those smart guys inside the fort!"

Swinging back and forth several times to build up momentum, Lightning suddenly let go and went soaring over the stone fort's walls. Or at least he scraped over them.

"Ahhhhhhhhhh! Get them off of me!" Lightning screamed as he landed on top of a surprised Brick, having gotten tangled in a bunch of the thorny vines that had been covering the top of the fort's walls.

Mike looked on in serious panic as Lightning quickly untangled himself and began punching Brick, who was still laying on the ground.

"Mike!" "Owwww!" "Do something!" Brick kept groaning in between sentences as Lightning wailed on him, trying to bruise the cadet enough to daze him so that Lightning could easily throw him out of the fort.

Mike clutched his head stressfully as he knew he was powerless against Lightning. He rushed the athlete, only for Lightning's muscular arms to shove him away from the fight on the ground. Mike rubbed his head as he laid on the ground near Lightning and Brick.

"Mike! Go into Vito or something! We could really use a fighter right now!" Brick screamed at him in a panicked voice as Lightning moved to pick the cadet up and throw him outside.

Mike started hyperventilating, trying to decide whether he should agree to Brick's request or whether he should he stay as himself as he had promised himself that he would do.

It turned out that neither of them would get what they wanted.

Mike gasped as he felt another presence take over his mind, the frustration pulsing within him uncontrollably.

Brick watched and briefly celebrated as he saw Mike gasp, but was quickly disappointed when he saw who was now in control of Mike's body.

"Mike" looked around the fort, admiring the stones but looking a bit annoyed at the fight going on in front of him.

"Dang fool kids! You have a beautiful fort right in front of you, and all you can do is fight like animals! Why, back in my day, we admired a good fort and settled our disputes by throwing stones at each other instead." Mike was now hunched over with one of his arms twisted and supported on his back. One of his eyes was scrunched up and closed and his face had wrinkles everywhere.

Lightning quickly succeeded in throwing the bruised Brick out of the fort before turning back to "Mike" with an eyebrow raised.

The athlete flexed his biceps, "Alright old guy, does Lightning have to throw you outside or will you go quietly?"

Chester glared at the boy in front of him as he crossed his arms, "I'm not going anywhere, ya punk. You kids don't scare me. I fought in the trenches!"

Lightning picked the scrawny "old man" up and carried him outside as Chester complained loudly about how disrespectful kids these days are to their elders. He threw Chester down on top of the slightly-recovering Brick, who groaned as Chester's weight fell on top of him harshly. Lightning then closed the door and locked it audibly. Several moments later, the sound of a bell ringing could also be heard from just outside.

Chester's lone eye looked down at him in annoyance, "Why didn't you do anything to stop that hooligan? Honestly, kids these days rely too much on their muscles. Back in my day, we always carried around blunt objects for situations just like this!"

Brick groaned, "Hello Chester. Glad you could drop by."

* * *

(Screaming Bears Fort 3: Lindsay and Courtney)

"And so it turned out that the goofy guy had actually been the killer the whole time! And they only realized it just as he had escaped into a car, looking like really hot by the way, and drove off!"

Courtney groaned and held her head as Lindsay continued spouting nonsense. Right now she was telling the CIT about her favorite movies; the blonde was recounting the entire plot of Scary Movie right now.

Courtney had tried to tune the blonde out, but Lindsay was persistent. She had moved her own chair very close to Courtney's and was leaning in her direction as she happily recounted some of her favorite topics to the other girl.

* * *

**CONFESSIONAL:**

**Courtney:** The mocha-skin girl sighed loudly as she rubbed her temples, "Alright, so maybe pairing up with Lindsay wasn't the best idea that I had ever had."

She then looks at the camera calmly, "But I didn't want to be paired with Heather, Harold, or Noah. And Lindsay is honestly a pretty sweet girl. Even if she is a bit stupid."

Courtney rubbed her arms a bit, "She was one of the few people who spoke nicely to me on the first day here. And all of the others treat me like a nuisance. It's just nice to be appreciated every now and then." At this, she looked a bit to the side in sadness.

 **Lindsay:** The blonde smiled widely at the camera, "Courtney is like so nice! She actually listens to me when I talk. Not even Tyler or Beth does that all the time."

She laughed a bit in her signature good-natured way, "I think we're becoming really good friends, even if she was a bit bossy in the other seasons. It's just really great to have someone who appreciates my intelligence!"

* * *

Both girls suddenly stopped what they were doing as they heard something big slamming against their fort's door. Lindsay hugged Courtney tightly in panic as they both stood up, startled by the noise.

Cries of pain could be heard briefly as the door gave way, shaking the stone fort like a category 4 hurricane would as dust settled around it, revealing two figures standing there.

The chairs in the fort fell over, as did Lindsay's lipgloss bottle, which she had brought to occupy herself briefly in the fort earlier.

Lindsay screeched in panic as she bent down on the ground to her beloved red number 9. Courtney's eyes remained trained on the shadowy figures in the doorway as they became clearer.

There stood Eva, who had Cody in her arms, his head pointed towards the CIT. It looked like Eva had used him as a battering ram from the pained look on his face and the way that he was moaning. Eva put him gently on the ground next to her as she stepped forward, scanning both girls currently inside.

Courtney scoffed at the fitness buff and crossed her arms, "Did you really use Cody as a battering ram? I knew you were a brute, Eva, but I didn't know you would sink that low."

Eva frowned at her, her amber eyes looking cold, "I didn't force the geek to do it. He agreed to do his part to help out. And I'm letting him rest for his contribution." She motioned to Cody, who laid on the ground now with his eyes closed as he nodded in agreement.

Courtney spread her legs and her arms in a battle stance as she now glanced sideways to Lindsay, who still knelt by her spilled lipgloss bottle on the ground.

"Lindsay, we can take her together! ...I think."

Lindsay suddenly turned around, shooting on her feet. Both Eva and Courtney flinched a bit at the fire in her normally joyful baby blue eyes.

"YOU. MESSED. UP. MY LIPGLOSS! THAT BOTTLE WAS LIKE SO HARD TO GET!"

Eva scoffed at the blonde, "Doesn't matter to me. It's just some dumb lipgloss that pretty girls like you use to get guys to fawn all over you."

Lindsay let out a scream of rage as she tackled the fitness buff, taking everyone by surprise. Courtney similarly ran at Eva, who was a bit challenged by both of the girls together.

The three wrestled on the ground for several minutes as Cody watched from the ground nearby. He wished he had the strength to help Eva. Heck, he wished he could at least have a camera so that he could record this glorious cat fight.

Finally, a victor was crowned as one of them stood above the other two, who were sprawled painfully on the ground. This victor, of course, was Eva

"I've gotta admit, you both impressed me with that fight. You're a lot stronger than I thought." The fitness buff smiled a bit genuinely at the two, impressed at how good of a fight they had put up against her.

"You both could come to the gym with me any day. But sadly, it's time for this to end and for you to go outside now."

Eva slung Courtney over her left shoulder as she crouched down and slung Lindsay over the other. She began walking toward the open door to the fort as Chris's voice boomed through the fort, likely carried by hidden speakers inside.

"Alright, campers! The Screaming Bears have emerged victorious after some great plays! They hold all six forts currently! So they won't be having to eliminate anyone tonight!"

Chris's voice sounded gleeful now, for a hidden reason that made some campers quiver in fearful anticipation.

"Now get your butts back to camp!"

Cody gulped on the ground as his turquoise eyes studied Eva's face from afar.

What he saw wasn't very surprising. Eva's left eye was twitching horribly as she tossed Courtney and Lindsay back onto the ground. Both girls landed with smiles at hearing of their victory.

Cody forced his injured legs to stand as he wobbled over to Eva, whose face was turning red with vicious anger quickly. Before he could get to her, she let out an ear-piercing scream and ran over to the closest stone wall, punching it repeatedly as she grunted in anger at losing.

Cody winced as his ears caught the scream, looking down at Courtney and Lindsay, who had begun getting up. Both girls looked a bit fearfully at him.

He approached anyway, feeling courage die down slowly in his chest as he saw that her fists were actually making the stones crack a bit. Good lord, he didn't know anyone was that strong.

He patted her on the back, "Now, now Eva. It'll be okay. I'm sure the others won't vote you off. You did a great job!" The tech geek let out his famous gap-toothed smile as he threw his arms up in celebration of how well her plan had worked.

Eva didn't acknowledge him as she kept pounding the stone wall.

Cody gulped a bit at that. She was in her own world right now. And if he didn't stop her soon, she might hurt herself. Of course he didn't want that to happen. So he did the one thing that he had heard always worked to get someone's attention, feeling a bit brave at that moment.

He grabbed her face, craned it towards him, and kissed her.

Courtney gaped for a few moments before getting a disgusted look on her face and huffing. Lindsay gasped excitedly and cupped her hands together near her face, "Sooooo romantic!"

Cody kept the kiss going for about a minute before breaking off from the fitness buff's lips, her eyes now as wide as they could possibly be as she stood there, frozen as if she was Han Solo after taking a carbonite bath.

He chuckled a bit sheepishly as he glanced up at her innocently, "Soooo...that kiss was to die for, right? Or hopefully not to die for, for me. Heheh."

Eva didn't respond. She still had a dumbfounded expression on her face as Courtney grabbed Lindsay's hand nearby.

"We're going back to the campgrounds! You'd better get the fitness gorilla back, Cody. She looks like she's went brain-dead."

With this proclamation, Courtney marched briskly out of the fort onto the path that led back to camp. Lindsay waved back at him with a wide smile on her face as she followed the CIT, "Bye Cody! I hope you and Eva work out!"

Cody looked back at Eva, who still wasn't moving. He nervously slipped his hand onto hers and grabbed it gently.

"C'mon Eva, lets get you back to camp."

With that, Cody began leading her to camp, her hand in his as she followed him, her face still frozen.

* * *

**CONFESSIONAL:**

**Eva:** The fitness buff stared at the camera for a few moments with pink cheeks, "So...Maybe the tech geek isn't as bad as I thought...He did volunteer to be my battering ram, after all. That took guts."

She stared vacantly at the camera for a few more seconds, "And he k-k-kissed me. While I was full-on raging. A scrawny little thing like him would've been killed if things had gone wrong there."

She looked to the side a bit as she twiddled her fingers nervously, "I've never been kissed before...It felt kinda good."

She then looked with a hard gaze at the camera and got very close to it, "And nobody better make fun of me about it! Or I'll twist their arms off!"

* * *

(Back at the Campground)

Chris walked past the gathered teams, showing them both different reactions.

As the host walked past the Screaming Bears, he high-fived some of them.

"You guys did a great job! I especially liked Duncan's plan of scaring Scott witless out of the fort!"

Duncan grinned at the host as he kept walking.

When Chris walked past the Killer Sharks, he had a bit of a different reaction. He closed his eyes and frowned.

"You guys performed pretty disappointingly out there."

Some of them hung their heads in shame.

"I mean, Gwen and Trent? You guys were so outfoxed by Justin that it wasn't even funny!"

Trent rubbed the back of his neck shamefully as Gwen looked to the side away from her teammates.

"Alejandro and Scott? Need I say more?"

Alejandro growled a bit at the host as Scott stared at the ground, his shoes kicking at the dirt beneath him.

"Brick and Mike? You two were completely outclassed by Lightning! And he's an idiot!"

"Hey!" Lightning yelled at the host in offense.

The host continued berating them, "Leshawna. You were overpowered by Noah and Harold. NOAH AND HAROLD for crying out loud!"

Noah and Harold high-fived as they smirked at the other team.

"Ezekiel, you actually did decently well."

Ezekiel brought his head up and a smile grew on it at the praise, "Ya really mean it, eh?"

"Until you were distracted by Zoey and Heather, which meant that you did not officially take their fort."

Ezekiel hung his head once again.

"Talk about messing up." The host then turned to some new victims.

"Cody and Eva! Where do I begin? Cody, your impulsive instinct to hump anything that moves meant that Eva didn't have a suitable and useful partner for the challenge!"

Cody rubbed his arm a bit as the others looked at him.

"Eva! You actually did great out there! I love me a cat fight!"

Courtney and Eva both scowled at the host for his lackluster description of their fight.

Chris walked over next to the TV screen that he had watched everything on. Here, he smiled deviously.

"So obviously the Screaming Bears won! They will not face elimination tonight!"

The Bears broke into wild cheers at how great their plan to take each fort at the same time had gone.

"..."

"..."

"And neither will the Killer Sharks!"

The Bears paused as the Sharks looked at the host questioningly.

Alejandro stuttered pretty uncharacteristically, "But you said that every challenge would be an elimination round?"

Noah agreed, "Yeah, and what about the follow-up challenge. Does immunity in it just not matter for this round?"

Some of the other contestants began shouting questions at Chris as Chef Hatchet yelled at them all to calm down.

"You see, there is going to be no elimination because..."

"This wasn't actually a challenge!"

Courtney and Heather heavily protested at how their team's win was being treated.

"But we kept all three of our forts and took all of the others over! How does that not count as a challenge?! I got wrestled to the ground by frikkin' Eva!"

"Speak for yourself! I got overtaken by a bunch of disgusting rodents and tied up like some kind of criminal! I demand that our win be acknowledged!"

Chris silenced them with a simple wave of his hand, his grin only growing at their ire, "I never SAID that this was a challenge, if you remember. And I never did say that the losing team would face an elimination ceremony."

Some of the campers thought back to all of his monologues and realized that he was telling the truth.

Justin groaned, "So we did all of that for nothing? I wasted premium hairspray for that win! Did none of it matter?"

Lightning was louder, "Lightning fell on his face several times for this challenge, Chris! Are you tellin' Lightning that he looked like a fool for nothing?!"

Chris put his hands behind his back as he laughed at all of them, going so far as to have to wipe a tear from his eye, "You teenagers are so funny. Maybe you would have some of the answers to these questions if you would stop interrupting!"

The host's voice grew harsh at that last part. The contestants grew silent.

Chris nodded his head, now satisfied, "Good. Now, this challenge isn't an elimination challenge, but it wasn't for nothing. It was necessary to set up an advantage for the winning team in tomorrow's real challenge!"

Chris pointed his hands enthusiastically in the air. The Screaming Bears cheered a bit more lightly than last time as they heard that they had won something for their efforts.

Noah crossed his arms as he leaned forward lazily, "What's the challenge?"

Chris grinned at him and walked up to bonk him on the head, "Hello! Hello! Is anyone in there?! I can't tell you that. Silly Noah. You'll have to wait until tomorrow. Things are less fun for me to spectate when you all know what to expect."

Chef stood up now, moving next to Chris as the host nodded his head silently.

"Get back to your cabins, ya overgrown babies! Dinner is being served in 2 hours!"

* * *

Ezekiel walked back to the Killer Sharks cabin, a bit disappointed that his team had not only lost but that him getting distracted was a part of it.

He had just been so taken by Zoey's story! It sounded almost exactly like his own, except that he hadn't made many friends on this show up until this season, and he didn't find love anywhere. He sighed a bit as the others walked ahead of him.

"Hey there, homeschool. I heard you've been squealing about what happened last night."

Ezekiel shrieked as he saw Eva near him, all of the others now too far in the distance to hear him. The fitness buff approached him with her fists clenched as she smirked at him.

* * *

"And so you have it folks! Our campers played war games today. Some of them proved to be quite a bit more clever than others. While some of them proved to be more brave, like Cody! Man, I thought for sure he was going to be beaten to a pulp by Eva!"

Chris smiled a bit as he closed his eyes and shrugged his shoulders, "Would've made for good TV. Oh well, I've made a bet with Chef that she'll beat the crap out of him tomorrow or tonight."

He then got back on-track, "Anyways, what is the next challenge that the Screaming Bears won the advantage for? Is Gwen and Trent's new friendship gonna sit well with Duncan? When am I going to get to kick Ezekiel off of my beautiful island?"

"Find out next time on Total. Drama. Wars!"

* * *

**The Killer Sharks: Alejandro, Scott, Cody, Trent, Ezekiel, Mike, Brick, Leshawna, Eva, and Gwen**

**The Screaming Bears: Lightning, Heather, Zoey, Courtney, Duncan, Justin, Noah, Lindsay, and Harold**

* * *

**Elimination Order: Jo, ?**

* * *

**Hey guys, this concludes Episode 2 of Total Drama Wars! I really hope that you guys like this, because it took me quite a bit of time to write ;)**

**I recently got a case of a cold, so the next chapter might take about a week to write. I hope you guys understand.**

**So what did you guys think?**

**Did you like the length of it?**

**What character interactions did you like?**

**Who do you think is going to go next?**

**And what do you think the next challenge will be?**

**Shoot a review if you liked the chapter! Maybe recommend the fic to others! Follow or favs are also greatly appreciated!**

**Now that I'm done pandering, have a great day!**


	4. Putting On a Show (Episode 3 Part 1)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chris McLean and Chef Hatchet announce the fourth challenge of the season: A gang of musical performances by six of the contestants themselves! Who will show their secret skills? And who will humiliatingly fail to live up to standards, disgracing themselves and their family? FIND OUT NOW!

**Disclaimer: I don't own Total Drama or any of its characters. The Total Drama Series and all of its characters are the property of FreshTV and the parent company of the Total Drama television show.**

**To Guest Reviewer: Yeesh, you really don't like Cody, do you? I'm not going to tell you whether Cody meant what he said yet, but we all know that Cody has some active hormones. I'll let you decide whether he's just a perv or whether he was genuine, because I already know the answer ;)**

**To Other Guest Reviewer: You know, you actually made me laugh out loud with your comment about "Reader's discretion advised". I love it! I might just have to use that in the future.**

**To Reviewers Mark and Gucci: Thanks guys! This one took a lotttt longer than the previous two, but I feel like it's a lot better than them too. I'm really glad that you thought the Scott scenes were funny. That was the first concept I came up with for the chapter and the rest came in afterwards :) Noah and Harold was an easy decision because I'd already alluded to it. Cody and Eva was something that I cooked up after reading another FanFiction. And I definitely wanted to clear some of the air between Gwen and Trent because I liked Trent so much before Action.**

**Ezekiel's part was probably the one that I had the most trouble with. I wanted to make it entertaining, but I couldn't figure out how to do it. That's when I thought of bringing the gophers in. I'm glad that it went over well.**

**Lindsay and Courtney were admittedly a bit side-lined until the end, but that's because I felt that the other character interactions were a bit more interesting. Especially the part with Justin. I really loved Justin and, as you can see from the characters shown on the FanFiction's main line, he will feature prominently.**

_PLEASE REVIEW AND/OR FOLLOW AND FAVORITE THE STORY IF YOU LIKE IT. THE MORE PEOPLE I SEE INTERESTED, THE QUICKER I MIGHT GET CHAPTERS OUT IN THE FUTURE. *WINK* *WINK* Also, please recommend the story to other people if ya like it. I'll appreciate it and they will too_

* * *

**Day 3 Part 1: Putting On a Show**

(The Familiar Docks of Wawanakwa Island)

Chris McLean stood still his usual spot, his hands held in the air in a welcoming gesture as he gave his best TV smile.

"Welcome back to Total Drama Wars! Last episode stirred up lots of tasty drama! Not only did Gwen and Trent rekindle a lost connection," Images flashed on-screen of Gwen and Trent hugging in their fort.

"But Total Drama's lovable ladies' man Cody made some brave moves on the scary and dangerous beast known as Eva."

Chris laughed a bit, "Don't ask me how that's gonna turn out. I was just as surprised as you were!"

He then cleared his throat a bit to control his enthusiasm, "Despite all of the drama, the Killer Sharks were utterly pulverized by the Screaming Bears' strategy of storming their forts all at the same time and stall-defending their forts to buy time."

The host then chuckled as Chef Hatchet joined him on the dock, "I surprised all of the campers when I announced that all that they had gone through wasn't a challenge! Whiners, all of them! But at the end of the day, the Screaming Bears did win an advantage over the Killer Sharks for today's challenge that I think will turn out largely in their favor."

He then bowed to Chef, "Chef, will you do the honors?"

Chef looked nervously at him, "Chris, you know I got stage fright."

Chris elbowed him, "I know that, buddy ol' pal. But you deserve to finish the intro. We're partners, you and me."

Chef cleared his throat as he smiled, "Stay tuned for Episode 3 of TOTAL DRAMA WARS!"

* * *

**Dear Mom and Dad I'm doin' fine,**

(The camera pans over the cliff, where Scott, Alejandro, and Ezekiel are peering over the edge as some of the sharks wave them down. Ezekiel and Alejandro look at each other before Scott lets out a scream)

**You guys are on my mind.**

(The camera jumps down into water, where Harold is swimming. Nearby, a boat race is happening between Courtney, Jo, and Heather. Courtney's boat runs over Harold's head as she paddles ferociously)

**You asked me what I wanted to be**

**And now I think the answer is plain to see,**

(On the beach, Gwen and Duncan lay together in a towel. They lean in to kiss, only for Duncan to fall backwards into the sand after hearing Scott's scream)

**I wanna be famous.**

(Noah and Justin are push-fighting outside the confessional as Leshawna walks out of it and shoves Noah to the ground. Justin starts laughing at him until Leshawna steps on his foot)

**I wanna live close to the sun,**

**Go pack your bags, 'cause I've already won,**

(Zoey can be seen in the mess hall holding Mike's hands and leaning in. Mike suddenly clutches his head and runs out the door)

**Everything to prove, nothing in my way**

**I'll get there one day.**

(The camera pans to outside of the mess hall, where Mike trips over the steps and falls on top of Lightning, who was on his morning run outside. They both groan in pain)

**Cause, I wanna be famous!**

(The camera pans to the front of the cabins. Brick and Lindsay are sitting next to each other on the steps, where she is seen talking to him about fashion. She sees Trent walking by and tries to fix her hair, only to topple off of the steps)

**Na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na!**

(The camera pans back over to the campfire at night, where all of the campers sit in the middle on the log-seats except for Cody, who is leaning against Chris's podium and trying to flirt with Eva, who has her arms crossed. Chris comes over and shoves Cody off of the podium as Chef tells him a joke and he laughs maniacally)

**I wanna be, I wanna be, I wanna be famous**

**I wanna be, I wanna be, I wanna be famous**

(The camera slowly fades out as it leaves the campfire and slowly shifts to the indigo sky scattered with bright white stars. All of the campers whistle as the intro ends)

* * *

Chef Hatchet doesn't know why he ever accepted this job.

First off, none of those ungrateful kids appreciate his spectacular culinary skills.

Second off, he has to do all of the heavy-lifting around here, because Chris sure can't do it with his noodle arms.

Thirdly, he has to run to the infirmary tent whenever one of those idiot teenagers needs a band-aid.

Which brought him to the present moment.

When he had first seen Eva and Ezekiel walk into the mess hall an hour before dinner was supposed to be served, he didn't pay it any attention besides a quick glance. It had been harder to ignore when they had stumbled up to his serving counter, Ezekiel panting for breath as Eva's arm reluctantly wrapped around him to keep him steady.

He had raised an eyebrow at them before Eva had screamed at him to get his butt to the medical tent.

In the heat of the moment, he had ran there as fast as he could before realizing that he wasn't scared of the fitness buff.

He wasn't scared of her. Nada. No. No way.

...

Alright, maybe a little. He had let himself go a bit since his army career. He couldn't move the way he used to.

These were the thoughts swimming in his head as he prepared two of the beds for a quick treatment, getting boxes of literal band-aids out and some gauze in anticipation of the minor injuries that they both had.

Then he sat down on one of the beds as he waited for the unusual pair to make their way to the medical tent. As he stared at his fist, it felt like hours went by as he waited. And waited. And waited some more.

Finally, they stumbled through the open tent flaps and made their way over to him.

"About time you kids showed up. Feels like I've been waiting forever," he complained loudly.

Eva scoffed and rolled her eyes, "Yeah, sorry that us injured people couldn't move a bit faster. I'm sorry that we inconvenienced you."

Chef crossed his arms as he got up off of the bed and motioned them to both of the mattresses, "Good. Maybe there's some hope for your generation after all."

Eva laid on the bed to Chef's right and Ezekiel laid on the one on the left.

Chef decided to take a look at the less deadly and threatening one first.

After a bit of careful observation about Ezekiel's face and the poor condition of his leg and chest, it was clear to Chef that the prairie boy had been roughed up by someone.

Sparing a sideways glance to the other bed, where Eva lay patiently, Chef gave the prairie boy a simple pain relief pill bottle and some cream to help with the bruises. He told him that he could stay there for the night so that his leg could recover from its soreness.

The cook then went over to take a look at Eva. The rage-a-holic had scratch marks all over her and some bumps on her heard that looked really small, maybe from acorns or something dumb?

He just gave her some cream to help close the wounds and some band-aids to cover them up. He had nothing for the bumps.

He didn't press either of them about what happened because he suddenly remembered that he had to finish cooking dinner and that he had left the stove on, "Oh no! My spinach puffs!"

As Chef ran frantically out of the medical hut, Eva turned to Ezekiel, who had been silent for most of this.

"You can relax homeschool. I'm not gonna kill ya here. If I had plans to do it, we both know I would've done it out there in the forest where I could've hid your body."

Ezekiel stuttered a bit, "I-I had no'o idea that they were watching us, Eva homes. Ya have my word, eh."

* * *

_(Flashback to Earlier, After the "Challenge")_

Eva stepped toward the prairie boy menacingly. He felt sweat growing around the area where his skin met his hair as he grew wide eyes instantaneously and pointed right behind Eva, "Why is Chris comin' o'over here, eh? I thought the day was o'over!"

Eva cocked an eyebrow curiously and turned around. She looked around where Zeke had pointed for a few seconds. Chris was nowhere to be seen. She turned back to where the homeschooler had been and saw nothing there as well.

She snarled, "Hey, wait!"

Only a bit into the forest, Ezekiel ran as fast as his legs could carry him. He really didn't feel like facing the wrath of Eva today! His left hand had to keep itself on his toque to keep said hat from flying off in the wind.

He heard an enraged howl behind him and he knew from experience that Eva was gaining on him. He had no realistic chance of escape. So, as she grew increasingly closer, he wrapped both of his arms around a tree and refused to let go as Eva pulled his legs as hard as she could to detach him from it.

"C'mon homeschool, don't make this harder than it needs to be. I'm just gonna rough ya up a bit, just like old times," Eva smiled a bit nostalgically as she remembered some of their encounters at Playa des Losers.

Ezekiel yelped as she began twisting his left leg a bit, trying to make him give in, "No'o way, eh! The Zeke doesn't even kno'ow why you're mad at him!"

Eva grunted as she made sure not to twist his leg far enough to seriously injure him, "I had to endure lame flirting from that tech geek all day, homeschool. And that's because you blabbed about how I apologized to you!"

Ezekiel closed his eyes as he tried to hold on a bit longer. He had a good explanation for what he did, "But Co'ody was already int'a ya, homes! He told The Zeke that he thought ya were hot and The Zeke told him that he thought ya were nicer no'ow because of what happened last night!"

Eva twisted his leg a bit more as she pondered over that, before Ezekiel yelled, "Aunt! Aunt!"

She chuckled a bit as she stopped twisting the leg but kept hold of it, "You know that the phrase is "Uncle! Uncle!", right homeschool?"

He smiled back at her, "Of course I do'o, eh! I'm not as clueless as I was bef'ore. I just knew that yelling "Aunt" would make ya stop hurting The Zeke for a moment."

Eva smirked, "Hmm, you know, you're more clever than I thought, homeschool. It almost makes me forgive you. Almost."

With that, she finally tore him off of the tree. He looked somewhat frightened as she punched him in the chest a bit and used him as a weapon against the branches of the tree. He grabbed onto one and pulled himself up as she shook her fist up at him.

He laughed a bit and relaxed up there before an acorn flew from the other direction and hit Eva on the back of the head. Whoever had thrown it must be really strong. And brave too. It looked like it stung the fitness gorilla, who turned around angrily to see who it was.

Ezekiel saw it before she did, and he gasped. It was one of the gophers that had helped him out earlier!

Eva ran for the gopher, who just cleverly hopped back into his hole in the ground and resurfaced near Ezekiel's tree now. It put on an army hat as it held an armful of acorns, chucking them at Eva at breakneck speed.

Ezekiel watched the spectacle in shock and in slight amusement. He hadn't known that the gophers cared that much. He brought a finger to his chin, maybe he should bring them some food every now and then?

As the prairie boy pondered this, more gophers showed up and began pelting Eva. The girl was enraged and kept running around trying to catch several of them. They kept thwarting her by tunneling back into the ground.

She yelled in rage as the acorn-flinging suddenly stopped. She stared wide-eyed at some of the gophers, who looked disappointed to be out of acorns. One of them made a pose like it was thinking and then squeaked something at the others. They all jumped out of their holes and rushed Eva, who narrowed her eyes as if she was challenging them.

* * *

(Back to the Present)

"The Zeke had no'o idea that the go'ophers would attack ya and scratch ya all up, eh."

Eva gave off a genuine laugh as he looked at her in shock, "Don't worry about it, homeschool. It was pretty fun actually. I've been looking for a challenge on this island and I finally got one."

Ezekiel cocked any eyebrow, now hopeful, "S-so'o ya aren't mad at me for what they did, eh?"

Eva let a small smile grace her lips, "Nah. You're cooler than I thought, homeschool. I'll forgive you for both of the things you did. This time. Just don't cross me in the future." She punched her open palm threateningly.

Ezekiel nodded profusely and gave a little salute, "Yes ma'am, eh!"

* * *

During dinner, some people asked where Ezekiel had went. Eva told them that they had both ended up in the infirmary and that Zeke would be staying there for the night. Alejandro offered to bring him his dinner after they all finished eating.

Scott watched the Latino slip over to the medical tent with Ezekiel's dinner with great interest. A plan began forming in his head as he finally followed the others to the cabin.

They had all went to bed after dinner feeling a bit worried about the next challenge. Chris had seemed very enthusiastic to keep what it was away from them, which, in their experience, usually meant that it was bad news.

* * *

(Morning: At the Bottom of Mount Looming Tragedy)

Brick stared up at the mountain, thinking of when he climbed it with Jo just last season. It had been quite the tough day for him, he recounted as he winced. He had dislocated his arm and had been punched off of the top by an angry Anne Maria.

The cadet was brought to Mount Looming Tragedy by his morning jog. He usually made rounds around most of the safe parts of the island where Chris set up challenges. Yet the memories had come flooding into his mind at the sight due to Jo's absence.

It just wasn't fair! He had finally confessed his feelings! He was cool! He was suave! Or at least he thought he was. To Jo, he probably looked like a nervous dork.

His thoughts were interrupted as he heard a pair of footsteps running toward him. The brick-house began jogging again, not wanting to be caught reminiscing, before the camper known as Lightning caught up to him.

"Hey there, military guy! Lightning sees that he isn't the only one on this island who prefers to keep fit."

Brick thought of how to respond to the meathead for a few moments. He must've still looked sad from thinking about Jo though, because Lightning picked up the slack of the conversation.

"Why do you look sad? Are you out of protein powder already?" Lightning gasped dramatically as his hands flew to his cheeks, "Lightning'll let you borrow some of his."

Brick cocked an eyebrow at him, "Since when are you nice, Lightning?"

Lightning grunted in offense, "Hey now! Lightning has always been a nice guy! They call him "Nice Guy Lightning" back at school!"

Somehow, Brick didn't believe him.

Lightning saw his skeptical look and decided to change the subject, "You never told Lightning what was wrong. Lightning is a nice guy, so he'll listen to your problems."

Brick didn't even have the capacity to think of whether he wanted to tell Lightning, of all people, about his romantic troubles. He just needed to get it off of his chest.

"Well...Jo was eliminated the other day and...I kinda had hoped she would stay a bit longer."

Lightning burst out into laughter, which surprised Brick and distracted him momentarily from his pain, "You miss Jo?! Lightning is glad that rat is gone! He only wishes she could've been kicked off 0th instead of 1st!"

Brick felt anger creep up in him, but he pushed it down a bit. He asked the other boy, with an edge in his tone, "0th? That's not a thing."

Lightning scoffed, "Lightning meant that he wished she hadn't competed, of course!"

Brick was beginning to think Lightning wasn't such a nice guy after all.

He was also beginning to think that he needed to find somebody else to vent to.

"Well, it's been nice talking to you, Lightning," the cadet falsely grinned as he tried to pick up his pace to leave Lightning.

The oblivious boy also sped up, keeping himself right beside Brick, "Any time, military guy! Lightning is always happy to grace others by talking to them!"

Scott, who scavenged through a bush up ahead, heard the commotion and jumped into said bush to avoid being seen by Brick or Lightning.

Brick continued trying to get away from Lightning, only to find Lightning keeping up right beside him. His saving grace finally came when a squirrel accidentally knocked an acorn down from a tree branch above, which landed on Lightning's head.

Lightning stopped in his tracks as he rubbed the spot on the back of his head where the acorn had impacted. He glared back at the squirrel in the tree, who glared back at the athlete. Brick watched the stare-down from a few feet away, as Scott watched it from a bush at the same distance.

"Lightning demands an apology!" Lightning pointed his index finger up in the air dramatically, only for the squirrel to throw another acorn at him, this time purposefully. It squeaked at him angrily as it smirked.

Lightning growled, "This means war, tiny woodland creature!"

And so Lightning and the squirrel gathered up a bunch of acorns, trying to pelt the other with them in some kind of bizarre war. Brick looked at the fight strangely before suddenly backing up a bit and running away. Scott crept out of the bush he was hiding in once Brick was gone and high-tailed it out of there through a side path.

* * *

**CONFESSIONAL:**

**Brick:** The cadet crosses his arms, a sorrowful look on his face, "Lightning may have distracted me from thinking about Jo for a bit, but I'm still a bit down that she was the first one eliminated. I mean, they had Lightning on their team! The guy just got into a fight with a squirrel!"

 **Scott:** He is covered in dirt as he glares at the camera unhappily, "Yeah, I was out there looking for the invincibility statue when jarhead and meathead came running up on me. Had to hide in a bush. Now I'm caked in dirt." He took a few grains of soil off of his shirt and crushed them in his fingers, "Kinda reminds me of home, but it's also pretty annoying."

* * *

(The Mess Hall, Breakfast)

Zoey left the breakfast line with her black tray covered with, something? She honestly didn't really know what it was. It looked like yellow goop.

She bit her lip as she looked over at her team's table and back to the Killer Sharks' table. She hadn't made many friends on her team, as of yet.

She was also worried about her boyfriend.

She had seen how disappointed and guilty Mike had looked yesterday after aiding in his team's loss for the fort "challenge". And she had talked to Brick afterwards about it, learning that Mike had freaked out when Lightning was attacking Brick and turned into Chester out of stress and frustration.

It reminded her of two days ago, when they had first arrived on the island again. Mike had turned into Chester after they had dived together off the cliff.

She made up her mind, nodding confidently to herself. She was going to sit with Mike today. She needed to provide him with some emotional support. Something was going on with him. Something strange.

Over at the Screaming Bears' table, Heather spotted the redhead sitting her tray down next to her boyfriend, who was a Killer Shark. She got up and immediately protested loudly.

"Hey! Zoey! Get over here! You can't sit with the enemy!"

Zoey looked nervously at the queen bee. Everyone was now watching the scene unfold.

Gwen got up from her seat at the Killer Sharks' table and brought her fist down on it, "You just go back over there and sit down, Heather." The goth uttered the name venomously with special emphasis.

Leshawna backed her up, pointing at the queen be with a glare, "Yeah, queenie. The girl can sit with her boyfriend if she wants!"

Heather scoffed at both of them and turned her nose up, "Was I talking to either of you? How about you stay out of our team's business."

Leshawna almost lunged at her, but was held back by Gwen and Duncan, "Let me at her! Let Leshawna take care of the prissy rich girl again! Just like I did in season 3!"

Alejandro got in the middle of it, his arms out in a mediating kind of way, "Ladies. Ladies. I have a solution that will work for everyone. How about everyone just sits where they want and we hold team meetings in the cabins from now on."

Some of the campers looked suspiciously at Alejandro, but came around a few moments later after they processed his idea. It was a good one and it meant that they could sit with their friends.

Alejandro turned to look at Heather, his green eyes almost mocking her as he asked, "Heather? What do you think?"

Heather felt her only friend in the room, Cody, looking at her expectantly. She sighed heavily as she assented, "Fine. Let's do it your way."

She sat down with her arms crossed as all of the campers shifted seats, going around in chaotic directions before finding their friends.

Cody slid in to the seat next to Heather and patted her shoulder, "You know, Heather, you did a good thing back there. I know it's hard for you to admit when you're wrong."

Heather grumbled as the tech geek began consoling her.

Trent looked over at where his friend Cody had sat and sighed. There was no way he would be sitting with Heather any time soon. So he sat down next to someone who seemed a bit down, namely Brick.

Brick didn't seem to notice him much when the musician sat down.

"Hey man, you feeling okay? You look majorly bummed," Trent asked the cadet in a bit of concern.

Brick sighed as he met the musician's kind green eyes, "It's just that I'm having some romance issues. I kissed Jo right before she was eliminated. Didn't even get to talk to her about it."

Trent patted his back in sympathy, "Yeah, I've been there before. Total Drama Island and Action both did a number on me. I left both times not knowing how Gwen felt about me."

Brick looked up at him in surprise, "Really? It happened to you twice? I never watched those seasons all the way through."

Trent smiled sadly at the cadet, "Yep. I have quite the bad luck. It's probably why I need a lucky number in the first place." He chuckled a bit at his own joke, "Just don't waste your time feeling down. You'll get your chance to see her. And who knows? Maybe you'll be holding 5 million dollars in your hands when it happens. That never hurts your chances with girls."

Brick laughed a bit and put on a genuine smile, "Thanks for the cheer-up, soldier. I feel a lot better now."

Trent laughed a bit, "Any time."

Lindsay sat down on the other side of Brick at that moment, Courtney trailing her.

"Hey Brick! I've been wanting to talk fashion with you since we got here. Like, how was fashion school?!"

They began happily chatting about Brick's time at fashion school between seasons with Trent sometimes cutting in and Courtney contributing at times as well.

* * *

**CONFESSIONAL:**

**Brick:** The cadet is now smiling brightly, "I take back everything I said before. The people here are great!" He threw his hands in the air, "Lindsay and Trent were so nice to talk to. Courtney was a bit less pleasant, but she had her moments where she got into the conversation. Overall, I think that they'd all be great friends to have. And Trent's right. I'll see Jo at the end of the competition," the cadet rested his fists against his sides as he smiled.

 **Lindsay:** "It's sooooo nice to have someone to talk fashion with!" The blonde clapped her hands as she beamed happily, "None of the other girls are that interested in makeup and nails and hair and clothes either. Well, Heather is, but I don't talk to her anymore." Lindsay crossed her arms angrily, or at least as angrily as Lindsay could manage. She then smiled as she remembered something else, "Trent was being so nice to Brick too. Even Courtney lightened up around him!"

* * *

Over at the end of the opposing table, another unusual conversation happened.

"So'o what kinda stuff are ya into'o, Alejandro'o? What do'o ya do'o for fun back ho'ome, eh?"

Alejandro ate his yellow goop extremely hesitantly with his spoon as he glanced over at the other boy. He swallowed some of his breakfast before answering.

"Well amigo, I'm really interested in acting and in stuff like bull-riding. I played soccer for a bit as a kid. But my favorite activity is probably working with animals."

Ezekiel looked at him curiously, his interest piqued, "Acting, eh? I could see ya starring in movies." The prairie boy nodded a bit. His friend was quite handsome; there was no denying it. And the Spaniard had proved himself quite adept at acting through his under-handed manipulation all throughout Total Drama World Tour.

The homeschooler took a sip of water as he continued, "I'm a bit surprised that ya like bull-riding and working with animals, eh. You don't really seem like an animal person t'a me."

Alejandro laughs a bit, "I get that a lot back home." The boy's smile drops a tiny bit as he mentioned it. "But I want to be a lion tamer in the future. Big majestic cats, you know? I like working with them a lot. Lots of people discount me as a cruel person just because of season 3."

Alejandro seemed a bit down after bringing up his less-than-stellar reputation. Ezekiel wasn't a great comic, in fact he had been told numerous times at the Playa that his jokes sucked, but he gave it a try anyway.

"Yo'o, The Zeke remembers ya singing about that when you were free-falling o'over Japan, eh! I guess it makes sense though because you were one of the o'only ones to give a decent answer!"

Alejandro's face seemed to lose a lot of its grief at the memory, "That's right. I remember that. I seem to remember Bridgette saying that she aspired to "catch a barrel"? I always wondered if the others actually gave straight answers or not."

The Latino laughed a bit before getting a haunting smirk on his face as he elbowed Zeke. "I seem to remember that you had a crush on the fair Bridgette?"

Ezekiel's abnormally-pale cheeks turned bright red as he started stammering, "Well—no—ya got it wrong, eh—".

"You know amigo that acting guilty has never made a man seem innocent?"

Ezekiel sighed a bit, "Alright, eh. I did like Bridgette a lot. She was nice, generous, and she had the mo'ost beautiful olive eyes that The Zeke had ever seen."

He rubbed his arm a bit as he looked to the side, "But I never had a chance with her, eh. She hates me after all of the stuff in Egypt and at the Playa."

Alejandro raised an eyebrow, "I didn't think that Bridgette was the type to hold a grudge."

Ezekiel looked at him incredulously, "She hates you, eh! She used to say so'o all the time!"

* * *

_(Flashback: Bridgette arriving at Total Drama studios after being booted off in TDWT)_

Beth held Bridgette's arm as she walked her inside of the familiar doors.

"Are you okay with going onto the Aftermath tonight, Bridgette? Blaineley is really tearing Geoff up about that stuff with Alejandro."

Bridgette's nostrils flared angrily as she stomped her foot on the pavement, "I HATE ALEJANDRO!"

* * *

_(Flashback to the Total Drama World Tour Aftermath Show in Hawaii)_

Geoff tried to organize the three pictures of the finalists as the Aftermath show went on a quick commercial break. They had already gone through each of the finalist's strengths and weaknesses, so all that was left to do now was complete the challenge for the advantage in the finale.

He smiled over at his girlfriend, who had just returned to him maybe 20 minutes ago. She had been surfing the waves all the way back to Hawaii, and it was a most excellent entrance to him. If only that bear wasn't around, Geoff grumbled. He wanted to take her in his arms and kiss her. He wanted that more than anything.

That was when Beth of Team Cody raised her hand. Geoff caught sight of it, stood up, and smiled at her, "Yes, Beth?"

"I know you can't say it on-air, but who are you and Bridgette rooting for?"

Geoff tapped one of his fingers against the couch underneath him, "Well, I'm rooting for Cody. Heather has a heart of stone and Alejandro will say anything for the money."

"Hey!" Courtney screamed in protest.

Bridgette's olive eyes narrowed a bit at the question, "I'm hoping Cody beats both of them back here. Heather has done too much wrong to win the prize. And I HATE Alejandro."

* * *

_(Flashback to Total Drama contestants after they were saved by a cruise ship off the coast of Hawaii)_

All of the others were climbing into the cruise liner. Most of them had gotten on as a cage holding Feral Zeke had been carted away so that the animal boy could be checked for severe burns.

Tyler looked around at everyone, "Hey, where is Alejandro?"

Bridgette crossed her arms, "I hate Alejandro!"

* * *

Alejandro winced a bit after he said it, looking at Ezekiel a bit regretfully, "Alright, upon further reflection, I might see your point."

Both boys turned as a newcomer slid in next to them.

"Heya fellas. I couldn't help but see ya both sitting here and wanted to join in with some of my best teammates. What were you guys talking about?"

Ezekiel smiled brightly at the orange-haired boy now sitting next to him, "We were talkin' abo'ot girl problems, Scott."

Scott chuckled a bit good-heartedly as he put his left elbow on the table, "Have I got some stories about the honeys back home. Care to listen?"

Ezekiel nodded his head enthusiastically, "Sure, eh! You were great in the first challenge!"

Scott turned to Alejandro now and smiled, "What about you, Al?"

Alejandro's eye twitched, "If you would call me Alejandro in the future, I would love to hear your stories, friend."

Scott nodded and began diving into some tales about some girls the farmer had romanced back home as Ezekiel hung onto his every word. Alejandro listened as well, but watched the farm boy wearily.

* * *

**CONFESSIONAL:**

**Alejandro:** The Spaniard looked thoughtfully at the camera, "Hmmm, I'm not sure what to think about Scott approaching Ezekiel and me like that. I want to trust him."

He then pursed his lips, "But his behavior yesterday makes me hesitant. He said that he wasn't sorry at all about what he had done and that he didn't see any merit in admitting that he had even done anything wrong."

 **Scott:** The farm boy smirked at the camera with eyebrows sloping downward deviously, "Too easy. Ezekiel trusts me because of our little talk two days ago. And I needs me some allies. Alejandro is just a package deal really. I'll act all friendly with 'em and relate my trauma on the show to theirs, and we'll rule this team!"

* * *

Suddenly, the door to the mess hall swung open violently. Many of the campers craned their heads immediately to look at what or who came in, only to see small green things shaped somewhat like spheres tossed in.

Smoke began spilling in everywhere as screaming could be heard. Campers ran rampant inside in chaos, falling over and bumping into each other repeatedly as they all tried to blindly make their way to where they knew the door to be. Lightning, who was the first one out, tripped over the mess hall's steps as he ran outside in retreat. The others joined him in a crumbled heap on the ground soon afterwards, many of them groaning a bit in pain.

Lightning groaned especially loudly at the bottom of the pile. Then he noticed some very familiar shoes walk towards him.

"Hey campers! I see that I've caught you at a bit of a bad time here, but we've got a challenge to introduce and explain!" Chris clapped his hands at them cheerfully as some of them glared at him and began untangling themselves from the others.

"Smoke bombs, Chris? Really? Do you even know what smoke can do to the skin?" Justin crossed his arms angrily at the host as he closed his eyes. Lindsay quickly seconded the concern.

Chris's smile only grew, "Oh, I'm sooooooo sorry for inconveniencing you and your skin. Maybe you can pay for some treatments when you win the contest."

"Now! Getting back on track here, I'm here to explain your new super-cool challenge! Do any of you know what weary soldiers look forward to most when they're at war?"

A cricket chirped quite loudly and a tumbleweed floated past in an extremely cliche moment.

Harold raised an eyebrow, "How are tumbleweeds even present here on this island off the shores of Canada?"

Some of the campers looked behind them to see two interns slightly hiding behind the side of the mess hall. One of them had a basket of tumbleweeds next to him and the other had a kazoo that many suspected made cricket sounds. The interns both grinned nervously as they ducked behind the building.

Chris scowled a bit at the spot that the interns had been spotted at, "So, anyone want to answer my question?"

Lightning began opening his mouth, ready to give an answer—

Chris shook his head to the side frantically and waved his arms defensively in front of him, "On second thought, I'll just tell you this time! Don't want to risk another disaster like yesterday."

The host then put on a smile as he began bending his knees a bit dramatically, "Well, campers, soldiers enjoy many singing-and-dancing shows while they're away from home! Often, it's some of the only entertainment they'll get, depending on where they are."

Noah interrupted here, "Chris, are all of these challenges going to be military-themed?"

Duncan joined in, "Yeah, I thought you said that the season was called "Total Drama Wars" because we're considered All-Stars and the prize is much bigger."

Heather narrowed her eyes bitterly, "If I have to crawl in the mud of that dumb obstacle course again, I'll—".

"Woahhh, easy there campers!" Chris put his arms out a bit defensively as he chuckled, "No, these challenges won't all be military-themed. Only some of them will, because you guys are in the most brutal season of Total Drama yet!"

He cleared his throat a bit, "Now, I'll finally announce the challenge, if that pleases your highnesses!"

Chef glowered at the campers, daring them to interrupt again.

Chris grew a snarky grin, "Great! Now, as I was saying, soldiers love singing-and-dancing acts! And that's why 3 members of each of your teams will be performing one of these acts for us today!"

Some of the campers immediately began complaining loudly about this. One of them calmly raised their hand though, and Chris rewarded them by pointing at them to get them to speak aloud. All of the others shut up as Harold asked a question.

"So, will those of us who performed in the Island's talent show be able to do the same acts as before?"

Chris smiled at him generously, which gave Harold hope.

"Of course not! That would be soooo unfair to the Killer Sharks, because Harold here would win it hands down! So, to make things fair, I've put in a rule that no one who performed in the old talent show can perform today."

Harold fell to his knees disappointedly. Trent put a hand on the nerd's shoulder comfortingly.

He continued, "Because the Screaming Bears won yesterday's "challenge", they will get the honor of choosing the members of their team that are going to perform tonight."

The host now grinned wickedly, "And the Killer Sharks will have their participating members chosen by yours truly!"

Heather and some of the Screaming Bears smirked at members of the opposing team, who had begun protesting.

Chris put his hand up to silence them, "What's done is done, people! Maybe you should try winning in the future? I hear that holds a whole bunch of advantages."

"Chef here will judge the acts just as he did before in the talent show. Each act must be based on music of some sort. Dancing is mandatory, and singing is recommended. Good singing, that is. If you sound like Cody did in World Tour, you might make the same decision as him and choose to remain silent."

Cody protested as some eyes flew to him, "Hey now! I can sing well! I just...don't like singing!"

Chris chuckled alongside Chef, "Yeah, suuuuure thing buddy. We believe you."

Chris turned to Chef and whispered to him with his hand obscuring the view of his lips from the contestants, "I said that ironically because I so don't believe him!"

The host turned back to the contestants quickly, "You are all free to use some of our lighting equipment and our music speakers that are located backstage. The talent show stage is right where it used to be, which is just behind the campgrounds following a small path. Costumes for your performances can be dug up in Chef's old junk closet back there as well."

Chef laughed a bit evilly, "Oh Chris, you're really gonna make them brave that? I haven't cleaned that closet in 10 years!"

Scott raised his hand suddenly.

Chris sighed, "Yes, everyone has to attend the performances. Even those who don't want to, Scott."

Scott put his hand down, grumbling.

"Now! Let me choose who on the Killer Sharks will be participating in this fun activity! Screaming Bears, go ahead and huddle up somewhere else. I'll have Chef come to you in five minutes to tell you who the Killer Sharks are sending in and for you to tell him who you're sending in. Get snappy!"

The Screaming Bears filed out back toward the campground as Chris turned to the remaining campers, all of whom were Killer Sharks.

"Hmmm, who should I pick? Tough choice."

The host walked up and down the line that had formed, rubbing his chin in thought as his eyes narrowed at all of the campers, studying them closely as most of them nervously shied away from him.

The host stopped right in front of Brick. The cadet noticeably had sweat drops rolling down his forehead as Chris looked at him for a second before smiling, "Brick!"

Brick scrunched up his face nervously as the others looked at him.

"You are..."

Brick fidgeted a bit at the dramatic pause.

"Not competing! That poor sap next to you, Mike, is competing!" Chris wrenched his hand to the left of Brick as his thumb pointed at Mike. Mike gasped and began looking almost as nervous as Brick as Chris moved on down the line.

"Hmmm, who to pick next. Who to pick next." The host tapped his left index finger again his cheek as his eyes caught the sight of someone who he definitely held a grudge against.

"The second participant for the show will be none other than our sexist prairie boy, Ezekiel!" Chris snaked his right arm across Ezekiel's shoulder as the boy looked even more pale than usual. He brushed Chris's arm off roughly before stuttering.

"B-but why me, eh? The Zeke can't sing and he can't dance!"

Chris grinned evilly at him, "I'm sure "The Zeke" will figure something out." The host then kept moving as Alejandro glanced at Ezekiel worriedly.

Chris backed up to get a look of the whole line, making a square with some of his fingers and refocusing it in front of his eye a few times before settling it on someone.

"Gwen! You seem like the singing-and-dancing type! Why don't you be the third participant from the Killer Sharks!"

Gwen scowled at the host hatefully as he scanned all of them with his eyes.

"Alright, I've gotta bounce! Got important stuff to do." Chris elbowed Chef in the side as they both chuckled. The campers took this to mean that they were going to goof off and relax until the show.

"Make sure not to break anything! The acts will go on in approximately 5 hours. You have until then to prepare! Chef will come tell you who will be competing for the Screaming Bears in about 7 minutes so that you know what to expect. I'm sure they're gonna have a wayyyy better line-up than you do." Chris laughed at them after saying this last sentence before walking off with Chef.

The Killer Sharks gazed hesitantly at each other. They had a steep hill to climb if they hoped to come even close to winning this challenge.

* * *

(At the Campground)

The Screaming Bears had huddled up near their cabin soon after arriving back at the center of the campground. They were currently lamenting the fact that Chris had banned all prior talent show participants from competing.

"Uggghhh, that means that Justin, Harold, and I can't compete! This is terrible news!"

Justin glanced over at Heather unsympathetically, "Personally, I'm glad to not be competing. I'm not the best at singing, despite my fantastic body," the model took a second to motion down at his chest area as some of the others rolled their eyes.

Noah cocked an eyebrow at Heather, who was now glaring distastefully at Justin, "What? Did you have somebody else's diary to read tonight?"

Heather's eyes flew to the bookworm in outrage, "Why you—".

"Shut up! This isn't getting us anywhere!"

All eyes turned to Courtney, who had been the one to speak up. The redness faded from her face as she grew calm again, putting her hands on her hips, "I think that we need to discuss who should go instead of dwelling over who can't go."

Duncan raised an eyebrow before looking at some of the others, "Princess makes a good point," Courtney looked steamed at him for referring to her by her old nickname.

"I know that I don't sing and that I don't dance. How about the rest of you?"

Lindsay raised her hand eagerly, "Oh! Oh me! I can sing pretty well! And I know lots of cheerleader dances that I could do!"

Duncan wiggled his unibrow at her, "I'd like to see that."

Noah rolled his eyes, "Ah yes, cheerleading. The perverted fantasies of many-a-teenaged boys around the world. I'm sure that'll appeal to Chef."

Lightning interrupted Heather, who was about to go off on the bookworm, "Lightning can sing! Check it out!"

Lightning began singing a rap song, only to make his teammates grab their ears in defense as he hit a high note particularly badly.

"We've heard enough, Lightning! You are definitely not in. Chef would probably be begging for you to stop after just a few seconds." Courtney glanced at the boy in question.

Lightning just huffed and crossed his arms angrily, "None of you respect the talent of the Lightning. Your loss. Who else could go?"

Courtney looked over at Zoey, who was one of the only two people left that they hadn't considered yet.

"What about you, Zoey? Can you sing at all?"

Zoey chuckled a bit nervously as she held her hands together and swayed a bit, "Well, you see, I suffer from a bit of stage fright. I can dance well, but I can't do it on a stage."

Noah was reading one of his books now as he commented, "Yep, stages are real scary. Especially when they've been waxed."

It seemed that Heather had had enough of the bookworm's attitude and snarky comments. She marched over to him angrily and pulled his book out of his hands. He looked up at her neutrally.

"Alright, Noah! I volunteer you to participate! After all, you're so much better than all of us!"

Courtney walked toward him slowly now, a satisfied smirk on her face, "Yeah, I second that. Someone who spends so much time talking trash should put his money where his mouth is."

Justin smirked at his opposite, whose eyes were suddenly wide, "Unless he isn't a team player. But we all know what happens to those who don't contribute to their team. Does dodgeball ring any bells?" The blue in Justin's eyes seemed to glint brightly at Noah, who sighed a bit heavily.

"Fine. I'll participate in the stupid show. Just let it be known that I'm not great at dancing and I'm not great at singing either."

Lightning scoffed at him, "Sounds like a you-problem, smart guy. If you cause us to lose, we'll just have more of a reason to vote you and your insults out of here."

Courtney cleared her throat as the hostility seemed to almost thicken the atmosphere around them, "I'll volunteer to fill the third slot. I have some experience with dancing and I've played the violin since I was 5."

At this, Duncan began walking off.

"Where do you think you're going, delinquent?" Heather questioned him.

"We've already decided who is going. No need for me to practice my act or anything. I'm gonna relax," Duncan said half heartedly, still facing away from his team as he walked off into the distance.

Harold rubbed his hairy chin, "Maybe Duncan has a point. There's no need for anyone who isn't competing to be distracting those who are."

Heather agreed as the group saw Chef Hatchet walking towards them. They all looked at each other before going to meet him.

* * *

**CONFESSIONAL:**

**Noah:** The bookworm began by clearing his throat, "Alright, so I just wanted to say that my team is being completely unreasonable. They were just some meaningless jabs, nothing more."

His mouth then sloped downward to one side, "I don't know what I'm going to do. I don't know how to put on a good show and, if I don't, I might get voted off. So clearly my only option was to talk to those who do know how to put on a good show."

* * *

(A Forest Clearing near the Campground)

Ezekiel hummed a bit as he gazed out at the water. He wore his bling and his signature sunglasses.

"There's gotta be another way out. I've been stuck in a cage with my doubt. I've tried forever getting out on my own, eh."

As he sang, birds assembled to laugh at the lackluster vocal skills the prairie boy possessed. He didn't notice them as he heard footsteps behind him.

"That's a nice start, Zeke. But I think you need to work a bit more on smoothing your throat out. It would be easier to keep things less raspy if you cleared your throat and focused on what's happening in your stomach and throat."

Ezekiel didn't turn around, but his head moved a bit to his right side as he responded, "I got some help from Co'ody, eh. Already have what I'm gonna do'o planned out."

Leshawna walked toward him more, placing a hand on his shoulder as she finally reached him, "You know sugar, I've seen you hanging around Alejandro a lot lately. The guy is bad news."

Ezekiel finally turned around, his gray eyes icily meeting hers. She flinched a bit and took her hand off of him.

"And what would you kno'ow abo'ot my friendship with Alejandro'o? He's one of the o'only people here who acts friendly with The Zeke. He doesn't just smile at me in passing, eh. He talks t'a me every morning. He laughs with me. He tells me abo'ot his home life. The Zeke can't remember when he ever had such a good friend."

Leshawna sighed as her brown eyes met his gray ones once again, "I know that it seems like he cares about you, but he's only making you a pawn in one of his grand plans. I mean, for gods sake Zeke, didn't you watch World Tour?!"

She realized what she had said too late as his eyes grew hard.

"Zeke, I'm sorry—".

"What would you know about World Tour, eh? What would anyone but me and Alejandro'o kno'ow abo'ot World Tour?! I became an animal! I went insane and nearly starved several times! And no'obody cared! No'obody! And Alejandro'o was left to burn in lava by all 'a you! None 'a you went back for him until you were all safe already!"

Leshawna shrunk back at the harsh words, only to bite back at the prairie boy a moment later, "You think that we didn't care about you, Zeke?! All of us back at the Aftermath studio cared! When we saw how you had changed, we felt sorry for you! But we also felt scared!"

Ezekiel turned back around, "Why didn't ya do'o anything abo'ot it, eh? None of ya did anything, even though ya knew I was on the plane."

Leshawna stayed silent as she hung her head. Maybe coming here and saying all of these things wasn't such a good idea, in hindsight.

"Why do'o you even care if Alejandro'o does turn out t'a be manipulating me, eh? You were one 'a the members of the team that threw me off 'a the show that I had worked so hard t'a get back on in the first place. You all hated me. I could see it in your eyes that day."

Leshawna looked at his back sadly, watching his toque as it bobbed in the wind.

"Leshawna never hated you. You lost the challenge for our team. To be honest, I saw you as dead-weight. You didn't get along with anyone well and you screwed up constantly. I didn't know anyone else that I would've voted for in Egypt."

Ezekiel stayed silent, not giving any sign that he was still listening.

"But if I could take that vote back, I would every time. Because none of that was worth seeing you turn into that insane feral creature. If I never said it, I'm sorry, Zeke. I'm really sorry. And I'm sure that Bridgette, Lindsay, Harold, and DJ feel the same. I'm sorry for bothering you. Just watch yourself around Alejandro."

With that having been said, the black girl walked off swiftly into the forest, treading back to camp. Ezekiel turned around after he no longer heard her and looked down a bit.

* * *

**CONFESSIONAL:**

**Ezekiel:** The prairie boy looked uncomfortable as he scratched his head a bit, "So'o... I wasn't really expecting that kind of an apo'ology from Leshawna, eh. It felt kind of nice to hear that somebo'ody cared, even if they didn't do'o anything abo'ot it."

He trailed off for a few seconds before his eyes returned to the camera, a small smile growing on his pale face, "Maybe I can forgive Leshawna, eh. She was being awfully nice t'a me. Even if she is being really unfair t'a Alejandro'o." The prairie boy frowned at the mention of his friend before getting an idea, "O'oh! Maybe I can help Leshawna realize that Alejandro'o isn't such a bad guy anymore! I kno'ow that he's been feelin' a tad guilty since we got here. He just doesn't kno'ow how t'a apo'ologize, eh."

* * *

(Over Near the Campfire Pit)

Lindsay strolled around the beach, relaxing before her performance later that day.

Unlike her competitors and her fellow Bears, she felt no need to practice her routine. She certainly wasn't cocky, but she felt confident that she could perform dances that she had been training with for over two years.

She had even already decided on a song to sing. It was going to be great, she was sure.

Along the way, she decided that she might try to find somebody to talk to. After all, she knew that everyone who wouldn't be performing later that day would likely be strolling around like she had been or possibly relaxing nearby.

That was when she found Brick, who looked to be carrying a bunch of firewood to the campfire pit.

Lindsay, of course, was confused by this. Chris always had the interns fetch firewood for elimination ceremonies. Why would the host enlist Brick to do it instead?

She approached him from behind before speaking, "Hey Brick! What are you doing with that firewood there?"

Brick looked a bit startled as he turned around, before his eyes relaxed as he saw that the surprise visitor was just Lindsay.

He began marching along to the campfire pit again, Lindsay now in tow.

"Well miss, I was just getting some firewood to the campfire pit for the party that my cabin is throwing for me tonight. They want to try to take my mind off of Jo. Trent apparently organized it."

Lindsay's eyebrows shot up excitedly as she squealed a bit, "Eeeeee, you've gotta let me come to it! I love parties! Me and my girls always go to them together back at home!"

Brick looked conflicted as they arrived at the campfire pit. He dropped the logs down in an unorganized pile near the log-seats that the campers sat on during elimination ceremonies and turned to Lindsay with an uneasy look.

"Uhhhh, you see, Lindsay. It's kinda supposed to be just a Killer Sharks Guys thing."

Lindsay looked visibly hurt and Brick found himself feeling really guilty for being the cause of that look on her face.

"B-but, I really like parties though...And I've felt kinda lonely here lately. Only Zoey and Courtney really talk to me." The blonde girl sulked a bit as she closed her eyes before opening them again, the baby blue orbs now looking widely at Brick in a complete combined look of desperation and sadness.

"Pllllleeeeeeassseeee let me come. Pleeeeeaaasee."

Brick tried to look away, but the puppy dog eyes were merciless. He sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. He didn't know how the guys would take this.

"Alright. You can come. Just don't tell anyone else—".

Lindsay looked up from where she had been texting on her cellphone. Brick could see that the current name on the screen read "Courtney".

"I'm sorry, what was that you were trying to say, Brick?"

* * *

(Behind the Mess Hall)

Courtney grunted in frustration as she once again stumbled during her dance routine.

The CIT was going to finally show her talent for the violin tonight, and nothing was going to stop her.

Except for maybe her lackluster dancing skills.

You see, Courtney had been playing the violin for years. Practically for her whole life. In fact, she had been practicing in the months before she had returned to Total Drama for this season. She was so confident with her signature instrument that she already knew what she would play, and so didn't even bother practicing with it.

But she had fibbed a tiny bit when she volunteered to perform for her team in today's challenge.

She hadn't danced in years.

I mean, sure, Courtney had gone to a bit of a prestigious private school in her little section of Canada. The school had a dance team that Courtney had once been a part of.

Once.

She gritted her teeth together roughly as she remembered the reason that she had been kicked off of it. They had went to a province-wide competition one year, and one of her teammates had stumbled in their main routine, causing Courtney to fall off of the stage in a rather embarrassing display.

They had, obviously, lost. And the CIT had been mad. Really mad.

In fact, right there on stage, Courtney had ripped the poor girl apart with how they had practiced that same dancing routine for a year. A year. And how she had completely humiliated Courtney by knocking her off-stage in front of a bunch of competition judges.

Let's just say that, after they had endured an awkward and embarrassing bus ride home, the coach had dismissed Courtney from the team.

Courtney fell once again as her foot didn't move quite swiftly enough in time with the rest of her body. She got back up determinedly to try again. She would keep trying until she got it. It was such a simple move.

So simple that she was absolutely burning inside in shame and in anger that she couldn't perform it correctly.

Nearby, Zoey had spotted Courtney's practice session. The redhead had leaned against the outside wall of the mess hall as she decided to stay and watch her teammate with interest.

She had winced every time that Courtney had fallen so far.

On Courtney's 17th straight failed attempt, Zoey decided to tap into her generous side and approached the angry and impatient girl.

Courtney immediately stopped what she was doing as she turned around, glaring daggers at whenever dared approach her right now. When she saw that it was Zoey, her glare softened a bit, but only a bit.

"What are you doing here, Zoey? I'm kind of busy right now."

Zoey hesitated before deciding to be bold, "Courtney, I saw how much you're struggling with the dance moves you want to perform tonight. I thought maybe I could help you?"

Courtney scoffed, a bit insulted. "You? No offense Zoey, but what experience do you have with dancing? You have stage fright."

Zoey smiled a bit widely, "Yeah, that's true. But I'm really agile. I learned how to swing from trees and how to move really swiftly last time I was on the show. I think your problem might be that you're thinking more of your legs as their own entities instead of extensions of your body."

Courtney scowled lightly, but decided that she probably shouldn't be openly rude to her teammate. She reluctantly agreed in this spirit.

As Zoey showed Courtney some of her moves up close and told her some of the mistakes that she had been making, Courtney did get better.

But better wasn't good enough.

After a full hour of small slip-ups at crucial parts of her routine, Courtney had plopped down frustratingly onto a nearby rock.

Zoey had reluctantly plopped down next to her visibly-angry teammate.

"It's alright, Courtney. Really. Almost nobody gets it completely on their first try. These kinds of things take time." Zoey rubbed Courtney's shoulder a bit in an attempt to get her to calm down.

Courtney brushed her off as she dropped her head in her hands, "That goes against everything I've ever been taught about achievement. I have to be good at everything! I never struggle like this!"

Zoey's eyes widened a bit as she tipped her head confusedly, "Sounds like you have a tough home life. Wanna talk about it? I'm a good listener."

Courtney brought her head up, looking at Zoey with a disinterested face, "Look Zoey, you're nice and all, but I don't spill my problems to anyone who happens to come across me. It's just not how I operate."

Zoey frowned deeply, and then stood up, "Alright, I guess. Would you like to try it again?"

Courtney stood up with her arms crossed, "That seems like a more realistic solution."

* * *

(Backstage)

Noah scowled as he cross his arms and tapped his foot impatiently, "What do you think is taking him so long? I only asked for a simple costume."

Trent, who was standing next to him, just whistled a bit as he rummaged his hands recreationally through his pockets, "You're asking me? Cody is the guy who knows all about looking cool while performing. He's the one who helped come up with our Drama Brothers outfits."

A moment later, the door to Chef's supply closet crashed open, stringing a bunch of miscellaneous props on the backstage floor as well as Cody, who appeared to be holding something in a brown bag.

Trent's eyes widened in concern as he grabbed Cody by the shoulders and shook him lightly, "Cody! Are you alive?"

Cody slowly opened his eyes, looking extremely dazed. He whimpered a bit as he looked back into the dark closet behind him, "So much stuff. So much. No order at all! It's chaos!"

Noah rolled his eyes a bit at his friend's dramatics, "Not that you're trauma isn't important to me, but did you get any outfits for me to wear? This is kind of important."

Cody shot up off of the ground and smiled, holding up the brown bag in his hands proudly, "Of course I did! The Codemeister always comes through!"

Trent eyed his watch really quickly, "Uhhh, guys. There isn't much more time before the challenge starts. We need to get back to Harold and find out which song he picked for you, Noah." Trent began looking back at them as he walked down the backstage steps.

Noah and Cody followed, Noah looking extremely done with all of this, "I appreciate the help from you guys. I really do. But I hope that you aren't going to try to make me look stupid."

Cody smiled widely at him, his tooth-gap showing, "What else are friends for?"

* * *

(Sometimes Later at the Stage)

"Alright campers! I'm glad you all made it in time, because this is the start of today's challenge! We've already got Chef in his little judge booth back there," Chris pointed a finger at the back of the spectator session, where Chef sat wearing tacky golden glasses and a purple hoodie. The big cook gave Chris a thumbs up.

Chris continued, smiling maniacally now, "And we've got our poor performers all lined-up for you! Ezekiel will be going first. Followed by Noah. Followed by Gwen. Followed by Lindsay. Followed by Courtney. Followed by Mike."

The campers all took their seats in their respective sections. Scott and Alejandro sat together. Brick, Zoey, and Trent sat together. Gwen and Duncan, of course, were together as well. The others chaotically chose random seats.

Chris spread his arms upward, "Let's hope that, if the acts suck, we at least get some entertainment from each respective camper's humiliation that this is all being broadcasted on international television!"

"Now, without further ado, we'll let our first act go on!" Chris ran back quickly to the judging shack where Chef currently sat.

The campers began focusing their sights on the stage as multi-colored light strands began moving all around, illuminating various portions of the stage floor in the darkness. Then, soft rock music began to play loudly. Some of the campers nodded approvingly. It sounded nice.

Suddenly, the multi-colored lights ceased and a red one specifically landed on a figure in the center of the stage. It was Ezekiel, and he wore the same outfit that he always did. Some on his team facepalmed at that fact as the first line of the song approached.

"There's gotta be another way out. I've been stuck in cage with my doubt. I've tried forever getting out on my own."

The campers nodded approvingly. Ezekiel wasn't attempting to sing because everybody knew that he would fail at that. He had chosen to lip-sync his song instead. And it did look pretty convincing.

As a lull in the song's lyrics hit, the red light illuminating Ezekiel went out. Some of the audience began craning their heads, wondering what was going on.

Suddenly, a blue light shined down upon Ezekiel, who was doing a new pose near the right corner of the stage. He held his left arm up dramatically. That was all he was doing, in fact. He was moving dramatically with the song.

"I've tried forever getting out on my own. But every time I do this my way, I get caught in the lies of the enemy. I lay my troubles down. I'm ready for you now."

Green lights exploded on the stage as the blue light flickered off. Ezekiel was once again in a different spot, now near the back of the stage in the center-right. He did some flips and other moves as the next line played.

"Bring me out. Come and find me in the dark now. Every day by myself I'm breaking down. I don't wanna fight alone anymore."

"Bring me out. From the prison of my own pride. My god I need a hope I can't deny. In the end I'm realizing. I was never meant to fight on my own."

This pattern continued throughout the prairie boy's performance. Different colored lights would replace old ones as he would spontaneously appear on different places on the stage. He did dramatic and agile moves to make up for what he lacked in dance knowledge.

When he finished, panting a bit and on his knees in the center of the stage, everyone clapped modestly. It had been better than they expected from such a sheltered and socially-awkward guy.

Chris grinned wickedly, "Ah yeah! That was sub-par at best! There's no way Ezekiel will get a good score!"

Everyone's eyes turned to the Chef-o-meter, which hung at the top of the stage. Ezekiel looked up at it anxiously, his fingers desperately crossed.

To everyone's surprise, the Chef-o-meter fizzled up into an impressive score of 8 bars.

Everyone looked up at it, dumbfounded, until the Killer Sharks began wildly cheering for their teammate and the Screaming Bears groaned disappointedly.

Chris's eyes couldn't be wider, "What! What is with that score?!" The host looked at Chef, who sat next to him.

Chef simply shrugged, "Hey pretty boy, Ashes Remain is my jam." The cook pulled a small pink iPod out of his pocket and turned it up to full blast on the volume. The same song that Ezekiel had just performed with cams blaring out of the tiny device's speakers as Chef pumped his fist and bobbed his head with the rhythm.

Chris just looked at him horrified for a few moments before something caught his eyes on the screen of Chef's iPod. The host covered his mouth a bit as he began laughing.

"Chef, do you seriously listen to the Backstreet Boys?" Chris's muffled laughter and his incredulous question caught the attention of the contestants in the audience, who began laughing.

Chef crossed his arms and shot daggers at Chris, "You're darn right I do. I have nothing to be ashamed of. I'm not the one who gets manicures every week, pretty boy."

Chris quickly stopped laughing and turned very red as the campers began pointing fingers and laughing at him instead.

The host grumbled as Chef stared at him with a satisfied smirk, "Why'd you have to go and bring that up, Chef? I was just messing with you a bit?"

Chef wasn't buying it, "Karma is a kick in the pants, Chris man."

Chris turned to the camera, his cheeks still a bit red, "Anyways, getting back onto topics that matter and that are really happening, our next performer is going to be on in a minute. I can't wait to see what Noah has cooked up for us! Are you excited, Chef?"

Chef had his neutral face on, "I couldn't be more ecstatic, Chris."

At that moment, the lights refocused on the stage, illuminating it heavily in simple white light. They were everywhere you could possibly look, giving the stage a real glamorous look.

"Here comes Noah! Our first performer from the Screaming Bears!" Chris yelled to the crowd. His team looked a bit apprehensive.

A figure soon walked into the middle of the stage, clad in a red jacket that didn't zip up or cover any parts of his chest or stomach. It had simple pockets on each side. The figure also wore gray, ripped pants and black combat boots. Around the person's neck was a tacky golden necklace and a red top hat rested on their head. Red, Star-shapes sunglasses shielded their eyes from all of the bright lights around them. A guitar rested in his hands

Everything went silent as even Chris and Chef felt their jaws drop to the floor.

"I-is that actually Noah?" Chris was absolutely shell-shocked at the sight of the bookworm in such cool, old-style rock clothes.

At that moment, the figure now identified as Noah cleared his throat and a somewhat obscure song began playing in the background. Only a few actually recognized it.

"Santana, huh? Figures. A lazy song for a lazy bookworm."

As the song kicked into high gear, the bookworm began expertly miming keystrokes on the guitar in a dramatic rocker fashion. He jumped around the stage as the campers began to whoop enthusiastically at the performance. He even began jumping around on one leg as he strummed the fake guitar. To everyone watching, it looked amazing.

From Noah's perspective, he looked incredibly stupid.

I mean, sure, it was necessary to do for the challenge, but he felt incredibly stupid while doing all of these things. The crowd here might eat it up, but he shuddered to think of what his family was thinking right now if they were watching this.

Yeah, his 8 other siblings would probably be merciless when he got home.

Taking his mind off of that, he continued his show, ending after about 2 minutes in a spot near the front of the stage, his fake guitar clutched in his hands as he made a signature rocker symbol above his head.

Chris immediately began bursting out in laughter as the campers laughed and clapped at the same time. Noah just watched them all, his eyes shielded by his tacky sunglasses.

"That was amazing! And bad! It was both, really! Now let's see what Chef thought?"

All eyes turned to the Chef-o-meter, which fizzled with 6 bars. The Screaming Bears looked disappointed.

"Shrimp boy pulled the look off well, but he sure don't know how to strum a fake guitar well enough. And I felt it was lazy to go with a song with no lyrics," Chef said disapprovingly.

Chris laughed as he slugged Chef in the arm, "Plus, he looked ridiculous! Oh man, I'm gonna bring this up from now on whenever he gives me lip!"

Noah glowered at Chris and Chef as he stalked offstage.

Chris wiped a tear from his eye before turning to the camera, "Alright! We have 4 more acts to go, but we're running out of time! So, it's time for a commercial break! The Killer Sharks currently lead the Screaming Bears 8-6, but we still have plenty of more acts to get to! I hope to see all of you viewers again when we get back!"

* * *

**The Killer Sharks: Alejandro, Scott, Cody, Trent, Ezekiel, Mike, Brick, Leshawna, Eva, and Gwen**

**The Screaming Bears: Lightning, Heather, Zoey, Courtney, Duncan, Justin, Noah, Lindsay, and Harold**

* * *

**Elimination Order: Jo, ?**

* * *

**TO BE CONTINUED IN PART 2 OF EPISODE 3. IT WILL BE COMING SOON.**

**Hey guys, confused? I'm sorry about that! This chapter was just shaping up to be ridiculously long, so I decided to split it into two parts. After all, we still have all four acts to go through, any character interactions I want to include, a follow-up challenge, and a dramatic elimination ceremony (muahahaha).**

**"Santana" (Performed by Noah) is the property of the band Europa. I, in no way, own it. Similarly, "On My Own" (Performed by Ezekiel) belongs to Ashes Remain. I do not own that one either. I just picked On My Own because I really like the song and I thought it fit Zeke a bit. I felt that Noah would also scrounge for a song without lyrics, so I picked the only instrumental rock song that I knew. Sorry if the performances were short! I didn't want to bug you all with full song renditions and boring repetitive descriptions of dance moves. Plus, I can't really write musical scenes that well.**

**Do you like my choice of performers?**

**Do you like the way the characters seem to be drifting personality-wise and plot-wise so far?**

**Please shoot a review about what you thought and what you think will happen!**

**Have a great day everyone! And please review! Or follow and fav! Every bit of support counts!**


	5. The Plot Thickens (Episode 3 Part 2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The show will go on! Now that Ezekiel and Noah have both performed their overrated acts, the mic now falls to Gwen, Lindsay, Courtney, and Mike! Who will impress, and who will totally flop? What will the follow-up challenge be? And who will be going home? Find out now!!

**Disclaimer: I don't own Total Drama or any of its characters. The Total Drama Series and all of its characters are the property of FreshTV and the parent company of the Total Drama television show.**

**To Reviewer Gucci: Thanks man! Noah is perpetually lazy, and I don't plan on changing that. I figured that him trying to save his reputation as much as possible would be in-character. His performance, while important, was kind of a side-one for me. And the character interactions will only seek to get better when I have less people to worry about running around in these chapters ;)**

**To Reviewer Bluespice: Thanks for the compliment! I'm trying to make things as realistic and as interesting as possible, but I'll surely make some mistakes because of inexperience. Still, it's great to hear you're following, friend!**

**To Reviewer Will: Thanks for the kind comment! I’m glad that you’re engaged with the story! I will admit that all of Mike’s personalities will appear over the length of the story, but as for when, I don’t know ;)**

_Please FOLLOW or FAVORITE the story if you like it and want to easily find it again in the future. It will be updated quite constantly as I try to balance it with my college work. Also, please write REVIEWS of some ideas you had to make it better or perhaps certain parts you like! It makes all the difference in the scenes that make it into chapters in the future!_

**SHOUTOUT: MarkLevins and his story Total Drama Legends! I've been slowly reading it and I must say that I like it, even though it includes Pakithew characters. This fanfic is the real deal if it can pull that off! Plus, I love some of the parts with Noah and Duncan. It is pretty differently written from my story, but I like to help other writers out! Check it out if you have the time, por favor.**

* * *

**Day 3 Part 2: The Plot Thickens**

(We return to the Outdoor Auditorium Stage where we last left off)

Chris grinned at the camera as widely as possible, his white teeth shining a bit as he threw his arms up, "Welcome back viewers! When we left off, we had just seen both Ezekiel and Noah perform their own musical performances for us! The score stood in favor of the Killer Sharks as 8-6. Next up, we'll see goth girl Gwen try to expand the Sharks' lead! Let's see how she does, because I'd like to see some more humiliation!"

Chris turned eagerly to face the stage from his little judging booth behind the audience section. There, the other campers were quietly talking to each other as they awaited Gwen's arrival on the stage.

Harold leaned over to Duncan, who sat nearby, "Hey, Duncan, do you know what Gwen is gonna be doing up there?"

Duncan rolled his eyes a bit at the nerd's approach, but decided to play nice.

"Nah, she said it was a secret. Apparently, she wanted it to be a surprise to everyone. Makes me think she has something special planned."

Harold gulped a bit nervously, "Do you think Chef will like it? Because we might just lose if her thing is too unique. I mean, Noah barely squeaked by up there!"

Suddenly, the stage lights dimmed before them, blue lights aimed from the back of the stage toward the bottom as a figure could be seen walking up from the back dressed in a black gown.

Duncan didn't bother answering the nerd next to him, because his eyes were widely focused on his girlfriend, who was wearing a tight black gown and dark eye shadow.

_"Oh he who is out of sorts_

_Of he who is out of swords_

_Does thou really claim to be high_

_When thy house is just as low as mine_

_If he should be tried by the courts_

_Nothing in this putrid land could stand_

_For no brain is as penetrable as a heart seems to desire_

_In great loss the plead would mire_

_With who should a victim dine_

_If nobody had any mind_

_The cloaked vale does impede_

_All of us you seem to see_

_A haunting laugh is all doth ring_

_And all our lives we must forth cede."_

All of the campers stared at Gwen in awe as she emotionally read aloud, her voice booming around them as a soft tune played behind her. It was obvious to them that she had written these verses herself. It was almost like she was giving the world a part of her.

In an ironic sort of way, it mirrored what happened to her at the old talent show challenge. Her diary had been read aloud then, showing her against her will. Now, Gwen stood before them as herself, baring her heart. It was quite a sight to see.

Most notably, Trent and Duncan both stared in shock as they listened. To Duncan, it sounded like his girlfriend was letting out some anguish that he hadn't known about. He strained his mind to figure out what the verses could mean. After all, Duncan wasn't really into things like Shakespeare and didn't know much about old English and metaphorical writings, as a result. Guys who did weren't usually on good terms with him either.

Trent sat nearby, his eyes slightly wide as he listened to his ex-girlfriend bare her soul as she had never quite done with him. He understood now the volume of her pain, the pain that she usually refused to let be seen by others. He briefly wondered if his chat with her yesterday had played any part in her this.

_"For who claim not to know_

_And those who know not to claim_

_Judgement waits just the same_

_For Hammurabi rules the land_

_Any who fear may take their lives_

_And hide them desperately from maim_

_But judgement waits all the same_

_Just as the cloaked vale does hinder thy view_

_It hinders your mind, all of you_

_If you escape, you might just see_

_All of his true identity."_

With that, Gwen took a bow as the blue lights magnified on her pale skin. There was complete silence for a few moments before most of the audience began clapping quite enthusiastically.

Chris sat there, looking very much surprised at the quality of Gwen's performance. He shook his head a few times to ground himself back in reality, "Alright! A surprisingly deep and emotional poem written by Gwen herself! Say Gwen, was I the cloaked vale in that little scenario?"

Gwen smirked at the host as she put her hands on her hips, "Yep, the epitome of evil and ignorance in the poem."

Chris clapped his hands, "Great! Now I'm in TV, books, journalism, merchandise, AND Poetry! I couldn't be more famous at the moment! I bet I'm more famous than that new American President! What was his name again? Trump?"

Chef's eyes widened as he slapped a hand over Chris's mouth, "Chris man, we can't mention that name. Our show will be boycotted by half of the States!"

Chris looked panicked, "Well why didn't anyone tell me that?! It's just a name!"

Chris began sifting through a bunch of paperwork, his eyes darting all over for the banned use of words on television. Sure enough, the name was there.

The host gulped a bit nervously as he looked at the campers, "I've just committed one of the most heinous crimes of all time, campers. So, before Interpol shows up to cart me off, let's see how chazzie Chef rates Gwen's poem."

Everyone looked at the Chef-o-meter in anticipation of a really high score, only to be shocked as only 4 bars fizzled.

All eyes then turned to Chef, who sat with his arms crossed next to Chris.

"I didn't understand the darn thing. Maybe you should've spoken in English."

Gwen's eyes shrunk into narrowed slits as she growled a bit. She stalked off-stage feeling very much cheated.

Duncan had a bit of a problem with the score, as did others.

"Hey, what the heck! Chef, that was a masterpiece!" Duncan tried to defend his girlfriend, his unibrow dipping down a bit angrily on his forehead.

"Yeah! What the heck was that score!? You gave the turkey 6 points for playing a fake guitar to an instrumental song!" Leshawna also looked a bit outraged as she began shaking a fist as Chef.

Heather glared at Duncan from across the audience section, "Duncan, you idiot! Are you trying to help the other team win?! Why are you defending Gwen?!"

Duncan focused his attention on her, his face looking very much annoyed, "Because she's my girlfriend! That's more important to me than some dumb contest! I won the money back in season 2 anyway!"

Chris got into the middle of the fray here, "Campers! Calm down! Chef's decisions are final and you'd better learn to accept them!"

Then Chris whispered quietly to himself, "Even if I also think that his rankings are absolute crap so far."

Chef simply shrugged at the angry teens as they turned back around to face the stage.

Chris cleared his throat loudly, looking a bit uncomfortable now, "Alright! After that performance that none of us will ever speak of again, we have Lindsay up next! The score is currently 12-6 in favor of the Killer Sharks!"

The Screaming Bears watched intently as red and white lights illuminated the stage next, a blonde dressed in a matching red-and-white uniform busting into the stage from the right side as the signature cheerleader song, "Hey Mickey" began playing.

Lindsay gave the crowd a beautiful and innocent smile as she began dancing around, starting out sticking to the center of the stage as she sang.

"Oh Mickey, you're so fine

You're so fine, you blow my mind, hey Mickey, hey Mickey."

Chris began clapping lightly at the performance. It was really shaping up to be a fine one, mostly because Lindsay knew how to dance and how to sing unlike those who had come before her.

"Oh Mickey, you're so fine

You're so fine, you blow my mind, hey Mickey, hey Mickey."

Lindsay put her hands up directly in the air and then jumped into a cartwheel toward the left side of the stage. Everyone cheered as she wheeled around singing the next verse.

"Hey Mickey

You've been around all night and that's a little long

You think you've got the right, but I think you've got it wrong

Why can't you say goodnight? So you can take me home Mickey?"

It became apparent at this point, as Lindsay began jumping up and down and skipping across the stage, that many of the guys in the audience were no longer focused on the song so much as they were something else. (The author refuses to explicitly say anything. Just be assured that they weren't admiring her personality)

As Lindsay continued on to the next verse, several of these guys could be seen staring at her in the audience, their eyes following her very closely as if they were guided missiles. One of these men was Cody.

"Oh dear heavens. It's glorious!" Cody's turquoise eyes teared up a bit as the geek watched every one of Lindsay's moves. Some of the girls saw this and began looking somewhat disgusted at how many guys were staring at Lindsay.

"You boys are pigs, you know that!" Heather screeched furiously at them, particularly the ones on her team like Lightning, Harold, and Justin. The boys didn't pay her any mind.

"Hey Heather, we didn't make Lindsay pick out such a revealing outfit," Justin's eyes never left the stage as he responded to the queen bee.

Harold nodded, "The sight is too glorious to not look. It's like my temptation to stare at the sun."

Lindsay began doing impressive moves like backflips as she grew closer to the end of her song. The blonde was clearly panting from all of her acrobatic dance moves.

"Oh Mickey, what a pity, you don't understand

You take me by the heart when you take me by the hand."

With that last line, Lindsay fell into a glorious split. The blonde bombshell smiled at the crowd as sweat dropped down her forehead.

Immediately, the crowd began whooping and hollering at her.

Chris, who had his left arm covering his eyes up until that point, was still whispering, "Don't look, it's illegal. Don't look, it's illegal," over and over again. When Chef Hatchet nudged the host, Chris opened his eyes and removed his arm, his trademark smile looking dazzling as he commentated.

"That was amazing, Lindsay! You really blew my socks off with...all of that! Incredible! Now let's see what Chef scores it!"

Lindsay looked hopefully at the Chef-o-meter above her, only to feel her world come crashing down as she saw just a measly 3 bars fizzle on it.

Many of the Screaming Bears and even the Killer Sharks felt their jaws drop at the minuscule score. They all felt that such an amazing performance deserved better than that.

All eyes silently turned to Chef for the reason, their brains still trying to process it.

Chef looked angry as their eyes fell on him, "I gave it the score it deserved! All of that cheerleading crap means nothing to me!"

With that, he got up and stormed out of the judging stall, claiming that he needed to "use the bathroom."

Chris sat there in complete surprise at all of the recent events, looking genuinely confused for the first time in awhile. All eyes fell to him now as he scratched the back of his head.

"I don't know what's up with Chef and cheerleading. Maybe he was rejected by a cheerleader before?" Chris shrugged his shoulders honestly at the campers as Lindsay depressingly walked off-stage, her moment ruined.

* * *

(The Outside of the Confessional Cam)

The confession cam could be seen from the outside, it's flimsy walls shaking as loud wailing could be heard coming from the inside. The voice sounded strikingly like that of Chef Hatchet's.

"WHYYYYYY AMBER!? WHYYYYYYYY WOULDN'T YOU GO TO PROM WITH ME?!"

* * *

(Backstage)

Lindsay began crying as she slumped down to the hardwood floor just out of view of the audience. Courtney, who was back there getting ready for her performance, which was coming next, looked nervously at the sad girl before reluctantly walking toward her. She leaned down on one knee and put a hand on her shoulder.

Lindsay just began crying more.

Courtney winced, trying to think of something to say to her. Chef had been pretty harsh in his criticism of her performance.

"Uhhhhhhh, there, there. It'll be alright, Lindsay. Don't worry about it."

Trent, who had been walking just outside of the stage area, walked in from the back curtain and rushed toward Lindsay.

"I heard crying back here! Are you alright?"

Lindsay opened her eyes and began sniffling as she talked to the musician. Courtney took a step back and sighed in relief.

"Thank god Trent was here. I'm not really the comforting type."

She then heard Chris's voice booming from back in the judging shack.

"Next up is Courtney! Hopefully she can turn things around for the Screaming Bears, who currently trail behind the Killer Sharks 9-12!"

Courtney took a deep breath as she gripped her violin hard in her left hand. She had to do this right. She hadn't practiced for the last few hours with Zoey for nothing. It was time to show the world what she could do.

With that, Courtney walked onto the stage, her preference being that it just be lit by several white lights. She took her violin into both hands and began playing it expertly, her left foot raised a bit as she closed her eyes.

The audience watched with mild interest as Courtney began. She was the only one so far to actually play an instrument of her own. And it sounded pretty great!

Courtney began picking the tune up after a few seconds, her music sounding like a slight mixture of classic and jazz music. Overall, it fit pretty well with the wooden stage.

The CIT took her first leap across the stage, landing gracefully as she tossed her violin behind her head and continued playing it. She heard some faint cheering at her little trick and allowed a self-satisfied smirk to tug at the corners of her lips.

Down below, the Screaming Bears were ecstatic. They might actually have a chance at winning!

Zoey smiled as Courtney continued, moving gracefully and swiftly across the stage with her music. The lessons had payed off. Maybe, just maybe, Courtney would be a bit more friendly with her if this turned out well.

Even her competitors begrudgingly clapped, including Alejandro and the stoic Eva. The show was quite impressive.

Or at least it was until just at the closing moment, when Courtney stumbled a bit in her swan pose.

The CIT quickly tried to recover, holding her violin up and swinging her other leg outward to hide the fact that she had messed up. Everybody else, of course, had caught it. Especially Chris.

The host clapped in the back, a mocking grin stretched across his face, "That was very sophisticated and graceful, Courtney. Until the end!"

He began laughing a bit as Courtney sent him a death glare and mimed throttling the host with her hands.

He grew a bit less amused when she kept miming ways to kill him silently, a vein bulging a bit on her neck.

"Yeesh, alright! Alright! Stop sending me death glares! Let's just see how Chef scores Courtney!" The host grabbed his neck a bit protectively as he diverted the CIT's attention to the Chef-o-meter.

8 bars fizzled, promoting loud cheers from the Screaming Bears in the audience.

Noah, who sat in the audience, now in his normal clothes, just shrugged, "Not bad."

Courtney smiled brightly at her high score and curtsied elegantly to the audience. She exited the stage to the left as everyone turned to Chris in anticipation of the next act.

"Alright," Chris pointed his index finger into the air dramatically. "The score is now 17-12, in favor of the Screaming Bears, finally! That means that a lot of pressure now falls onto the shoulders of the last performer of the night, Mike! If he can't get a 5 or higher, the Killer Sharks will lose today just as they did yesterday!"

Chris gripped a megaphone behind him and brought it to his lips, "You hear that, Mike?! Lots of Pressure! PRESSURE!"

Alejandro turned to Scott, who sat next to him and whispered to the farm boy, "I want you to go back there and see how Mike is doing. He looked dead nervous when he walked back there, and we don't need him messing up."

Scott cocked an eyebrow at the Latino, "Me? I'm basically Mike's worst enemy! Why should I go and comfort that weirdo?"

Alejandro sighed, "I thought you were turning over a new leaf?"

Scott froze, his mind reeling at how he had forgotten that. He put on a kind smile hastily and got up, "O-of course. I'm just a bit nervous, that's all! I'll go see how our teammate is doing right now."

With that, Scott scurried over to the back of the stage, entering through the back curtain.

There, he saw Mike and Zoey, her arms wrapped around Mike's neck as he breathed heavily.

"Don't worry, Mike. You'll do great out there. You know that you're great at dancing," Zoey whispered softly in her boyfriend's ear.

Mike's eyes relaxed a bit as her soothing voice broke down a bit of his anxiety, "Yeah, I know. It's just that things have been so stressful lately. What with me and you being on different teams. All I have is Brick on my team."

Zoey smiled innocently as she opened her eyes, peering at him from the side, "Don't you worry about it. I'll meet you later after the challenge. We can stroll around the island together. Maybe I'll show you that waterfall I was telling you about."

Mike grabbed her arm playfully and pulled her toward him, "Now what would I do without you?"

Zoey giggled a bit as Scott finally had enough of the disgusting display of romance in front of him.

"Ahem."

Mike and Zoey turned to look at who had interrupted their moment together. When they saw that it was Scott, neither one of them looked happy at all. Zoey detached from Mike and glared at her old enemy.

"What are you doing back here, Scott? I would think you'd be in the cabins stealing people's stuff and hiding it under Mike's bed right now."

Scott's eyes glinted mischievously, "Not a bad idea, Zoey. May have to do that later. But for now, Chris wants Mike to go ahead and start. I'm just back here to make sure he doesn't mess up our team's score."

Zoey's glare softened a bit as she crossed her arms and walked outside of the curtain, leaving the stage as she sauntered back to the audience section.

Scott now turned to Mike, who looked a bit nervous once again, "You ready, Multiple Mike?"

Mike's eyes darted to Scott. The boy was too panicked to even glare at his rival. This made Scott a bit uneasy.

"I don't know if I can do this, Scott. I'll mess it up!"

Scott came over and put an arm around his shoulder, promptly smacking the boy lightly on his left cheek, "We don't have time for that! You've gotta go out there and get 6 points! How will Zoey feel if her boyfriend gets voted off tonight for being too nervous?"

Mike gulped a bit, his eyes becoming more focused now. He stood up straighter and began to look determined.

"You're right. I've just gotta go out there and do it. No big deal."

As Mike gave himself a pep talk, Scott got an idea and grabbed a nearby prop, grinning deviously as he grabbed Mike, placing one of the prop pirate hats on the boy's head. Mike's eyes ballooned in shock before a gasp overtook him.

"'Ey mate. Just what a' we doing here?" "Mike" asked the farmer boy next to him in a deep Aussie accent.

Scott just grinned innocently, "You've gotta go out there and perform for the crowd, Manitoba! We're all counting on ya!" With this, Scott turned Manitoba Smith around and pushed him out onto the stage. The farm boy then raced out of the stage building and ran back to his seat. His fingers were crossed. Hopefully his plan would work.

* * *

**CONFESSIONAL:**

**Scott:** He smiled at the camera, "My plan is simple. Multiple Mike's little Aussie friend doesn't even know the routine. He'll mess up irreparably, Mike will be too depressed to do well in the follow-up challenge, and we'll send him packing for making us lose. It's foolproof!" He stuck a pocketknife into the confessional wall as his grin grew wicked, until he heard a voice just outside.

"Hey, could you maybe hurry it up in there? I know that it's a weird concept, but you aren't the only one here that has intestines."

Scott grumbled as he pulled his knife out of the wall, "Fine! I'll be out in a minute!"

 **Noah:** The bookworm is shooting a deadpan look at the camera, "I told my team that they shouldn't have made me go out there. Not only did I look ridiculous, but I didn't get an amazing score. Hmmm, maybe that's what happens when you make someone who has no experienced with music or dancing in general go and do a musical dancing routine? Who knew?"

He sighed bitterly, "I need to find out a way to put somebody else on the chopping block in case we lose and I don't get immunity. I just have to keep my eyes and ears open for something."

* * *

Chris grinned as "Mike" walked onto the stage wearing a pirate hat.

"What's this? Mike is doing a pirate act? Wonder how that's gonna look?"

The host turned to the interns manning the cameras just outside of his shack, "Go ahead and make sure to catch this one all the way through. I have a feeling it'll be the best one yet!"

"Mike" walked into the center of the stage, a cocky grin gracing his lips as some music began to play around him. He stood there as he bang swaying with it, catching a feeling of where the beat was and what song it was.

The campers in the audience looked the boy with puzzled looks. Just what was going on?

Zoey and Brick caught on to what was going on a bit too late. Mike's girlfriend gasped a bit dramatically as she began panicking, "How did Manitoba take control? I didn't see any hats around there when I left?!"

Brick was panicking for a whole other reason, "Manitoba doesn't know Mike's routine! We're gonna lose for sure!" The brick-house deflated a bit beside some of his teammates, who finally got wind of what had happened.

Alejandro slapped his forehead, "How has this happened? This is a disaster!" The Latino put his left hand on his chin and began stroking it in thought before his green eyes narrowed.

He turned to the boy next to him, "Are you behind this, Scott? Were you the one who placed that absurd prop on Mike's head?"

Scott threw his arms up defensively, a fake hurt look on his face, "Hey now, friend! I didn't do this! When I left, Mike was looking real nervous. Nothing I said calmed him down. He might've put the hat on himself to save himself the embarrassment of coming out here."

Alejandro continued to look at the boy suspiciously from the side, though he nodded as if he believed Scott's story completely. Something was going on here, he was sure of that.

He certainly didn't fail to notice when, just moments later, Scott exhaled a bit more deeply than before, almost as if in relief.

As Ezekiel began panicking next to him, meriting the Spaniard to calm the prairie boy down about the prospect of an elimination ceremony, he looked up at Manitoba Smith on the stage. Maybe he could let this go. After all, Scott likely had good intentions with this trick.

Of course, he could always keep this information handy for a later date. If Scott became a problem in the future, Alejandro needed something to defend himself.

Manitoba Smith's song began to pick up as the words began.

"Oh you shine bright

Brighter than all the stars

Brighter than fireworks

So I give ya all me love

And you're perfection even in yar mistakes

Give affection

Even when yar heart aches

When I'm away

You're who I'm thinking of

Because

Ya are my home, home, home

Wherever I may roam

Ya are the place where

I can rest me weary bones

Ya are my home, home, home

Ya are my home, home, home."

Alejandro couldn't help but feel his jaw drop as his eyes widened. Manitoba Smith wasn't bad! He wasn't bad at all! In fact, as Manitoba Smith unveiled his famous rope and began swinging it around as he bounced around the stage, the Spaniard found himself cheering.

Manitoba Smith grinned cockily as all of the campers seemed to get into his song. He shot flirty looks at basically all of the females in the audience as he galloped around for the next verse.

"You're a diamond

Brightening my cloudy skies

Sparkling all through the night

Light me up like fireflies

See ya shining

Even in the darkness

Stand beside me

When I don't deserve it

That's why I say

I give ya all my love

Because

Ya are my home, home, home

Wherever I may roam

Ya are the place where

I can rest me weary bones

Ya are my home, home, home

Ya are my home, home, home."

He blew a kiss to Zoey, who was standing up and jumping up and down for him, cheering her heart out near the front of the audience.

Clapping his hands, he kept with the beat as he slow-walked across the stage, swinging his hips as he finished the final verse. As the song faded out, he stood up straight and yelled at the crowd, "Are ya all ente'tained?!"

The Killer Sharks jumped out of their seats, applauding him enthusiastically.

"You're a lifesaver, eh!"

"Great work, Australian amigo! You stole the show!"

"You go string bean! Those hips can shake almost as well as Leshawna's!"

All of them except Scott, that is. He stood up and clapped rather angrily at Manitoba, though nobody recognized this in the ensuing noise. He grumbled quietly about how his plan has failed spectacularly. His mood matched that of the Screaming Bears quite well.

Chris stood up, "Well campers! That was an amazing ending for the show by Manitoba Smith! Now let's see whether it was enough for the Killer Sharks to take the final lead!"

Everyone looked anxiously at the Chef-o-meter. Some, like Courtney, crossed their fingers. Others, like Trent, bit their lips.

Others, like Manitoba Smith, gazed up at the meter with the utmost amount of overconfidence ever seen on television.

9 bars fizzled to the end of the Chef-o-meter.

The Killer Sharks shrieked in celebration as the Screaming Bears fell back into their seats, feeling dejected. Noah, in particular, looked worried.

Chris threw up his arms as he walked outside of the judging booth, "Alright! Seems like I'll be seeing the Screaming Bears at the elimination ceremony tonight! But before we get to that, meet me at the mess hall in 20 minutes for your follow-up challenge!"

The Screaming Bears groaned doubly at that announcement.

* * *

**CONFESSIONAL:**

**Zoey:** She squealed a bit in excitement before waving a bit to the camera, "That was amazing! Manitoba pulled it off so well! I'm sure Mike will be happy when he gets back in control!"

She then relegated her face to a simple wide smile, "I know that Mike picked that song for me. It's a real shame that he didn't get to perform it himself. It would've been so romantic." The redhead swooned a bit at the thought.

 **Scott:** He looked furious, "WHAT WAS THAT?! Manitoba Smith was supposed to foul up big time! Ugghhh, guess I'll have to focus on Mike later."

Scott kicked the toilet in anger only to find his foot go through the wooden toilet seat and right into the toilet water.

He let out a disgusted scream as he put both of his hands on his stuck foot and desperately tried to pull it out.

 **Justin:** The model smiled at the camera proudly, "Well, we lost. I had sort of hoped for this outcome. It makes things all the easier for me to gain an ally in this game."

He dug one of his hands in his pants pockets before pulling out his phone. His smile grew increasingly evil as he pulled up one of the photos he had taken of Gwen and Trent together the previous day, "And I know just how to do it."

He laughed maniacally as he threw his head back before stopping after a few seconds and bringing out a personal mirror, "Can't laugh too much," he traced the area around his mouth.

"My coaches say it wrinkles the face." He put his hands on his hips and smiled as he tucked the mirror behind him.

* * *

(The Killer Sharks Cabin: Boys Side)

"Hey, thanks again for helping me pick a song, homes. Ya really helped The Zeke out. He's ho'opeless with music, eh."

Cody smiled as he turned around to face the prairie boy, a gap-toothed smile plastered on his small face.

"It was no problem, Zeke, really. I had a musical duty to help when I found out you were planning to perform a rap song." The short geek shivered a bit at the thought of Ezekiel rapping on the auditorium stage on international television.

Ezekiel chuckled a bit, "I still think I could've pulled it off, homie. But The Zeke wields to your judgement. I'll see ya in the next challenge, eh." The homeschooler then exited the cabin, whistling happily to himself about avoiding another elimination ceremony.

Cody dug into his back, putting all of his personal equipment up before sipping up his bag with a satisfied "ZIP". He let out a bit of a tired chuckle as he fell back onto the bed in front of him.

He had spent all day using his own equipment to augment Chris's sound systems and lighting equipment at the auditorium. Of course, he hadn't done this for all of the performances.

Just three of them.

He had, of course, helped Ezekiel out. Cody had never really known the guy that well before, but they had shared a bit of small talk ever since they were placed on the same team two days ago. The tech geek had learned some interesting skills that Ezekiel had, but that the prairie boy had never been able to show due to his track record of being voted off on the first episode every season of the show in the past.

For one, Ezekiel could speak eight languages. That had intrigued Cody, who had trouble even passing his Spanish class in high school. He chuckled a bit as he remembered the look on his Spanish teacher's face as a younger Cody uttered "la cocina" slightly differently than was proper, giving the basic term a whole other, more inappropriate, meaning.

When Cody had heard today that Ezekiel planned to perform a rap song, he had loudly protested. As a rule, the tech geek could not abide by such a terrible genre of music. Especially when it would be performed out loud by a Canadian redneck.

So he had picked a song for the prairie boy. It had worked out pretty well for their team, overall. He now saw more of a spring in Ezekiel's step.

Another performance that Cody had largely puppeteered was Noah's. Cody giggled a bit as he remembered the horrified look on his friend's face when Cody unveiled his performance outfit just a few moments before he was to go onstage.

Noah didn't know anything about music. The poor guy was hopeless. So he had approached Cody, who had become somewhat close friends with the bookworm during their boring time together on the peanut gallery of Total Drama Action.

Cody had enlisted some of his fellow Drama Brothers to help, mostly because he was already busy with his two other projects.

Harold and Trent had readily agreed to help Noah out. Harold had been getting a bit closer to the cynical bookworm lately because they were on the same team and therefore were around each other a lot. They had developed an even better rapport after they held off Leshawna in the fort challenge from the previous day.

Trent and Noah weren't really friends, but the musician was a kind person at heart. He and Noah had been around each other for much of their time at the Playa during Total Drama Island, where Trent had helped Izzy tease Noah about...something that Cody would rather forget altogether, if you wouldn't mind.

Justin had outright refused, saying that he and the bookworm didn't get along and that there was no way that he would help him dig himself out of the hole he had gotten himself into. Cody had tried appealing to Justin's desire to see his team win the challenge, but he got the feeling that the male model didn't care so much about losing this round.

Strange.

That brought him to the third performance that he had helped to make better, although this one was not by request and not even done to the knowledge of the performer.

Cody had helped Gwen with her lights display.

He knew that he shouldn't have. After all, she was dating Duncan now. And he really hated to still be stuck on her.

But that didn't change the fact that he was. He was still drawn to Gwen. Even though she had pushed him aside in World Tour, chosen another guy over Cody again, and left him uncaringly at the mercy of Sierra—

He still cared.

He pondered over how that was possible as he heard heavy footsteps approaching his cabin on the creaky wood, seeming to stop at the doorway.

Cody sat up on the bed he was laying on to see Eva there, fists clenched and a stoic look on her face.

He squealed in panic and curled up into a ball on the bed, "Please Eva! Don't kill the Codemeister! It was just a kiss!"

Eva walked forward, "Chill out, shrimp. I'm not gonna maim you. Just came to talk."

Cody's eyes widened and he slightly uncurled his arms from around his head. He looked at her for a moment before chuckling a bit.

"Oh, ok. I guess I overreacted. What did you want to talk about?"

She stomped the floor with her left foot angrily and pointed threateningly at him, getting a bit too close for comfort for Cody, who shrunk back.

"You had better not do that again! Annoying me all day with your lame flirting! It completely distracted me from the challenge!"

Cody opened his mouth to apologize before she cut him off, jabbing her index finger into his shirt, "And you'd better not kiss me again without permission! Or I'll break your scrawny legs and throw them into the campfire pit! Is that clear?!"

Cody nodded frantically as his back hit the wall, the geek having shrunk as far back as he could from Eva's wrath.

He watched curiously as Eva stormed out of the cabin, slamming the door behind her.

* * *

**CONFESSIONAL:**

**Cody:** The short boy scratches his head confusedly, "By "don't kiss me again without permission", was she admitting she liked the kiss?"

A bit of a grin grew on Cody's face at the thought, "I wonder if she was mad because I stared at Lindsay during the show. Maybe Eva got a bit jealous that the Codemeister was being a player?"

"Or maybe she just hates me the same way she did before...I don't honestly know. I hope for the first scenario, but girls are confusing to me! I've watched "Clueless" and "Sixteen Candles" at least 11 times each to try to understand them, and I'm no closer!"

 **Lightning:** The athlete grumbled, slamming his left hand against the wall of the confessional, "Lightning is getting real tired of losing. He'll be humiliated if he has to go back home with a losing streak again!"

The braggadocio seemed to grow a bit uncharacteristically sad as he slumped down a bit, "Lightning just wants to make Pops proud. Maybe he needs to make some allies?"

* * *

(Outside of The Mess Hall)

Gwen ringed her hands together a bit nervously. She had eyes on Courtney now, and very few people were currently around. This might be her only chance for a long time.

Rather fearfully, the shaking goth walked up to the upright CIT, stopping behind her and suddenly feeling a bit short of breath.

"C-Courtney?"

Courtney turned around to answer whoever had approached her, before her eyes narrowed at the familiar sight of her ex-friend.

"What is it, traitor?" The CIT spat out hatefully at Gwen. Gwen flinched at the venom in her words.

"I...wanted to apologize—"

"Save it!" Courtney interrupted Gwen angrily, throwing her hands up in the air. Some of the others around the two girls noticed the outburst and watched with interest.

"You ruined me! Ruined! On international television, you made me look like a fool! So save your words, because talk is cheap!" Courtney stormed off as Gwen stood there, frozen with her left hand grabbing her right shoulder a bit nervously. She bit her lip a bit as she hung her head and walked off.

Some of the others who still sat around the guilty goth exchanged looks. Courtney's words were uncalled for, they silently agreed.

Well...except for one of them. He slipped off after Courtney.

* * *

(Right by the Edge of Camp)

Courtney halted as she almost reached the forest, huffing a bit still. How dare Gwen have the audacity to approach her like that with simple words.

As if that would undo all of the bad things that had happened.

She heard some rustling in the part of the forest right next to her and took up a fighting stance, "Whatever or whoever is out there, I can fight. I would leave right now if I were you."

Suddenly, a dark figure began approaching. The moonlight revealed it to be Justin. He was grinning widely at the CIT as the moonlight illuminated him.

Courtney sighed, sounding and looking very annoyed that the model was approaching her. She dropped her fighting stance.

"What do you want? I already told you in season 2 that I'm not interested in you whatsoever!"

Justin stopped before he reached her, putting his hands on his hips as his smile widened, "Oh, I'm not approaching you to ask you to date me, Courtney. I just came by to congratulate you on a performance well done earlier."

Courtney wasn't buying his flattery. She examined him closely and scoffed, "Oh please. You were probably just staring at my ass the whole time."

Justin put his land hand over his heart, stepping back a bit and looking hurt, "Now that's just rude, Courtney. I don't make a habit of staring at other people's bodies. None of them could ever compare to mine, after all."

Courtney rolled her eyes at the model's arrogance. Of course, she reprimanded herself. She should've remembered who she was talking to.

"Fine. I accept your compliment. Now, could you leave? I'm not in the mood to deal with you or anybody else right now." She inwardly burned with anger as she thought back to the recent incident with Gwen.

Justin's smile seemed to grow more sinister in the moonlight, "Ah yes, I saw your encounter with Gwen. What if I told you that I could fix part of your problem?"

Courtney looked back at him, now looking interested as she crossed her arms, "What could you do about it?"

Justin took a step closer as he dug his phone out of his pocket.

* * *

**CONFESSIONAL:**

**Justin:** He tossed his phone from one hand to another, smirking at the camera, "It's almost too easy. I get Duncan thrown out of here, and Courtney becomes a permanent ally to me in exchange. All she has to do is make sure that Duncan doesn't win immunity in the follow-up challenge. Heck, maybe Harold will see things more my way once I throw Duncan off of the island."

He grinned as he stood up, "Somebody has to make things interesting around here. Heather has no allies and is basically de-fanged. Scott is too much of an asshole to make any big plays in this game. And Alejandro is acting like a Jehovah's Witness!"

* * *

(The Mess Hall)

Chris stood in the middle of the room, his hands spread widely as he presented the campers with its temporary new look.

Several small ovens had been crammed inside the tiny room, each accompanied by a work station with all kinds of different food ingredients packed on top. They all sat right next to each other. Bags of flour littered the room, as did cartons of milk, containers of eggs, pasta boxes, seasonings, bags of sugar, and all manners of pans and pots.

They all deduced what the challenge would be about in matter of seconds.

Well, except for Lindsay.

"So what's the challenge, Chris?" The blonde bombshell aimed her baby blue eyes at the host, who sighed and craned his left hand against his hip as he looked at her.

"Campers, your follow-up challenge today is to cook up a nice dish! After all, I feel like we all worked up an appetite what with all of the humiliation and entertaining dance performances! I don't care what it is, just make sure it gets done! Chef and I will be the taste judges once you are done. Killer Sharks that get a thumbs up from both of us will receive a reward. Screaming Bears that get a thumbs up from both of us will be awarded immunity in the elimination ceremony later. And those who get none or one thumbs up get jack diddly squat!"

With that, the host snapped his fingers and stepped back. Immediately, the campers got busy at their cooking stations.

* * *

Noah inspected his oven very quickly, noticing the charred inside and the very dangerously rat-chewed cord. He stood up.

"Seems really safe. I'll make sure to go ahead and write my will."

Trent, who had taken the station beside the cynical bookworm, laughed a bit at his joke as he slugged him playfully in the arm, "You know, dude, you always have those little comments tucked away. How do you do it?"

Noah's eyes drifted over to Trent as he deadpanned, "What can I say? I studied it for years in high school."

Trent chuckled as he began plotting what he was going to cook. Noah decided to confront him about something that was bothering him.

"Why did you help me earlier? We aren't exactly chums."

Trent turned to the egghead, who had an eyebrow raised. The musician smiled a bit as he turned over to this food station, "What can I say? I just like helping people. It makes me feel good inside. And you're a friend of Cody's. Harold told me a bit about you last night. You seem pretty chill. I know you and I haven't talked a lot, but I figured we could be friends too."

Noah couldn't believe his ears, "You mean you help people just for the heck of it? And what did Harold say about me exactly?" The bookworm was genuinely curious.

Trent grunted a bit when he saw the inside of his oven. He flicked away a charred piece of food from the inside, "Yeah, it's my moral code. If someone needs help, I help them."

He then stuck his head out of his oven, wiping his hand with a paper towel, "Harold told me that you're a pretty cool guy now. Said you and him have been talking about games and that he feels like he can talk to you openly about himself. He called you his friend."

Noah's eyes widened a bit. That wasn't the plan! Harold was supposed to be his ally, his back-up on a team of uptight women and athletic annoying guys.

He paused to examine the implications. Nobody had ever spoken as highly of him before, to his recollection. Not even his parents really spoke much about Noah, except for when he somehow messed up something in the house. It felt...nice?

Yeah, it felt a bit nice.

For once, the cynical tongue-lasher was speechless. He stood there like a statue as Trent began making some fettuccine alfredo with some cream and noodles at his work station.

Great. Now he had to watch Harold's back in this game as well. This "friend" deal was so bogus.

* * *

Nearby, Harold decided to try approaching Courtney. The nerd had taken many cooking lessons from his mom back home, so he was quite skilled at it. You could even say that he was MAD skilled at it.

Alright, he'll stop it. Maybe it was a lame pun.

He had fixed up some sushi after asking to see Chef's fridge. Chris had reluctantly agreed and Harold then proceeded to chop up lots of fish and veggies like avocado to make some nice sushi rolls.

They had looked quite delicious. So delicious that Harold hadn't trusted those around him, Lightning and Heather, not to take his dish. So he had hidden it in his oven as a precaution.

It was a genius hiding spot. Harold had learned to master the art of hiding back in middle school when big large kids had begun picking on him for his interest in comic books and dragons.

Not much had changed recently.

He approached Courtney's work station cautiously, seeing the CIT looking quite unfocused on her own work as she boiled some simple noodles in a pot. He decided that she looked docile enough to make his approach.

He rested his elbow on the air next to her as he spoke, "Hey Courtney, I just wanted to congratulate you on your performance earlier. It was really choice. It was almost as awesome as when Daniel landed the winning kick again Johnny at the ending of "The Karate Kid"."

The CIT seemed quite distracted, as she didn't even glance his way. She waved her hand dismissively, not recognizing who it was standing next to her. If she had recognized him, she might've become livid at someone else approaching her for another botched apology of the day.

Harold grinned as he held his hands up in front of his face in victory, "No problem! I'll talk to you tomorrow! I can see you're busy right now!" With that, he pumped his fist and walked back to his work station. It wasn't much, but she hadn't blown up on him. That was a serious improvement, he thought, without realizing she hadn't known the one speaking to her was him.

"Ah yeah, I've still got it." The nerd patted himself on his back.

Courtney, meanwhile, watched Duncan out of the corner of her eye. The delinquent seemed to be cooking some brownies. He had just finished making some gooey brown batter and pouring it into a pan. Now, he placed it into the oven, set the heat carefully with the timer, and walked off to visit Gwen's station.

Courtney saw her chance and took it immediately. She carefully snuck over to Duncan's station and fidgeted with the heat setting. She smirked in victory. That ogre's brownies wouldn't be cooked any time soon. She delighted in this as she shot a thumbs up to Justin, who smiled and returned it. Courtney then walked back to her station, only to notice that her pot was dangerously boiling over. She screamed in panic and set the heat setting drastically lower. That didn't stop some of her noodles from boiling out of the pot and gardening on the stove, however. She sighed as she inspected her ruined pot. It didn't matter, she told herself. Duncan would be going home tonight, not her.

Ezekiel walked by at that moment, having grabbed some butter from Chef's fridge. He slipped on the boiled-over mess that Courtney's pot had made on the floor. This flung him across the room into Harold, who was too busy thinking to notice the prairie boy sliding toward him. They collided painfully.

"Prepare t'a lo'ose t'a The Zeke, eh," the prairie boy sputtered deliriously.

Courtney winced a bit, "Sorry, Zeke."

Harold groaned, "I forgive you, Courtney."

Courtney scowled as Harold addressed her, turning her nose up in the air at him, "I didn't apologize to you, now did I, traitor?"

Harold would've sighed, if another person wasn't currently crushing his lungs along with the rest of his body.

"Hey, could anyone get Zeke off of me?"

* * *

Duncan draped himself over Gwen's shoulders, nipping at her ear playfully for a moment. He had been hanging around her cooking-station for five minutes now, and he had really been distracting her from the challenge.

"Duncan, stoooop! I've gotta finish the salad."

"Why do you have to? It's not like you need some swanky reward when you have a boyfriend like me."

She pushed him off as she grinned playfully at him, smacking his shoulder with a wooden spoon that she was using to mix all of her ingredients together in a glass bowl, "Get back to work, tiger. Maybe I'll see you after the challenge. I hear there's a party by the campfire pit tonight."

Brick could be heard groaning in the background, "Lindsay! Why did you tell everyone about that?"

Lindsay could be heard apologizing, though it sounded a bit insincere, "I'm sorry, Brick! I just thought the more the married!"

Duncan chuckled a bit at Lindsay's mis-wording of such a common phrase as he waved at Gwen, "See you later, pasty."

He was subsequently caught by Justin, who extended one of his arms out to stop the delinquent from going past him. Duncan looked questioningly at him, "What do you want, pretty boy?"

Justin looked around quickly before cupping his mouth with his hands, "I have something really important I need to show you. Like really important."

Duncan rolled his eyes, but decided to satisfy his curiosity. Maybe the male model did have some interesting info. You could never be too sure in this game.

Justin fished out his phone, unlocking it with a flick of his thumb as he pulled up something on it. The model covered his eyes before handing the phone out for Duncan to take.

"Go ahead and look. I didn't feel right keeping this from you, Duncan, despite our personal issues."

Duncan took the phone, hesitating a bit. Did he want to see what the model had found?

His eyes widened in shock as he saw the image on phone's screen. It was a photo of Gwen and Trent hugging tightly in one of the fort's from last challenge.

Duncan's eyes narrowed dangerously as he began fuming with anger. He nearly cracked Justin's phone with his hand before the male model swiftly retrieved it.

"Uhhh, Duncan. You might need to calm down a bit," Justin said, not actually making any moves to stop the delinquent from freaking out.

And freak out Duncan did.

He screamed in rage, marching right over to where Trent was cooking and shoving the musician roughly to the ground. Trent, not having seen Duncan barreling toward him, had been taken completely off-guard, stumbling and tripping over his own feet as he fell onto the hardwood floor. Some of the contestants around the two backed up, their hands raised in noninvolvement as they stared at the raging Duncan.

Duncan stepped up to the fallen Trent, kicking him roughly as he glared down at him, "Trying to take my girlfriend, eh?"

Trent just looked up at the punk in confusion, "I haven't been trying to take Gwen from you. We're just friends."

Duncan clenched his fists, his hands turning red, "Really? That's not what those photos looked like to me, Elvis."

At this point, Gwen had shoved her way to the front of the crowd, appearing on the left of Duncan as she began tugging his arm, "Duncan! What are you doing to Trent?!"

Duncan's eyes shot to her, "What is this, pasty? Defending your new boyfriend? I should've known this would happen; couples never last long on opposing teams."

Gwen quickly developed an enraged look of her own as she shoved Duncan away from her, "What are you implying?!"

Chris noticed the commotion from outside of the door and motioned for Chef to follow him inside, "C'mon Chef, we gotta catch the chicken fight."

Chris and Chef snuck in quietly as Duncan stayed silent.

"What are you implying?!"

Duncan just walked away back to his station, sending one last glare at Trent as the crowd stood there, wondering what the heck had caused this all to happen. Things had been fine just a couple of minutes ago. Only two people were savvy to everything, both of them feigning looks of concern as they watched Trent as he lay there on the ground, looking very much confused and angry at the punk.

Noah approached him and offered him a hand. Trent accepted it after glancing quickly at the bookworm.

"So what was that about? You profess your dream career as a police officer or something?"

Trent scoffed as he brushed his shirt and pants off, "I have no idea. That guy just flew off the handle. He's being a nuisance like always."

Noah's eyes drifted to the angry Duncan as well. The delinquent sat quietly fuming at his cooking station as he awaited the timer for his brownies to go off. The bookworm's eyes puzzled over it all as his gaze drifted to Gwen, who shot nasty looks at her boyfriend from across the room.

"Hmmm, something is at work here," Noah mumbled to himself.

* * *

Chris blew an air horn loudly from the kitchen section of the mess hall, entering the room dramatically by flinging the kitchen doors open, Chef Hatchet following behind him with a blue bib hung around his large neck.

"Alright campers! Time for Chef and I to sample your cuisines!"

The first station he stopped at was Gwen's. The goth girl had put a salad together with simple ingredients like tomatoes, carrots, and cheddar cheese. Ranch dressing was drizzled liberally on top, as if she had lost all care for the salad at that point in making it.

Chris took out a silver fork as he scooped some of it up. He placed it in his mouth, chewing slowly. Chef Hatchet did the same beside him.

"Wayyyy too much dressing. You won't be getting the reward tonight, Gwen. It's a shame that you've now lost two things in the same day."

With that, Chris moved on to the next station. Chef gave the goth a thumbs up, but it didn't give her much solace. Chris was right: life sucked right now. She pondered this as she slipped to sit on the dirty floor.

Next, Chris had sampled Leshawna's chocolate lava cake. It got two thumbs up despite being a bit rich for the host's taste buds. Leshawna had cheered about how chocolate always came out on top.

Ezekiel's ratatouille was sampled next. The prairie boy watched nervously as Chris began chewing it. He reluctantly shot the camper he hated most a thumbs up as Chef did the same.

"You could cook in my kitchen any day, soldier."

"Word! The Zeke has conquered another challenge, eh!"

Justin's simple turkey sandwich caused Chris and Chef to both look at each other for a moment. They then shrugged, broke out a knife, and sliced it in half. They knocked their sandwiches together in a toast before munching down. Chris swallowed it and smiled, giving Justin a thumbs up. Chef also gave the male model a thumbs up, commenting on how superior turkey was to chicken in every way.

Scott, who obviously didn't know how to cook, had simply cracked some eggs on a pan and cooked them sunny-side up. Chris looked distastefully at the simple dish and gave it a thumbs down before trying it. Chef followed, telling Scott that eggs were only ever good over-easy. Scott stomped his foot angrily and complained that the same trick of simplicity had worked for Justin.

Lindsay had attempted to make cookies, which were very obviously charred. The blonde, who was rich and therefore had a cook back home to prepare food for her, hadn't known how long to cook her treats for. Chris gave them a thumbs down and Chef gave them a thumbs up. Lindsay asked confusedly whether that meant she got immunity or not as they walked away, ignoring her.

This continued for a time. Cody's mushroom surprise had gotten two thumbs up after a rather reluctant taste test on behalf of both Chris and Chef. They were pleasantly surprised to find that the green concoction actually tasted quite good. Chef clapped the short boy on the back, telling him that he had to get the recipe from him. Cody had nervously chuckled and responded that he might teach the cook some time.

Trent's fettuccine alfredo was a big hit with Chris and Chef. It got two very enthusiastic thumbs up from both judges, as did Noah's simple chicken noodle soup.

"You just can't beat the classics," Chef murmured to Chris. The host agreed.

Mike had attempted to make a pizza. The effort largely succeeded, but both Chris and Chef refused to give it a thumbs up on the principle that homemade pizza is never as good as restaurant pizza.

Zoey's simple salad had also failed to generate enthusiasm, as both Chris and Chef had seen the same from Gwen before her. Chris gave it a thumbs up reluctantly, saying that it was better than Gwen's. Zoey looked hopeful before Chef shook his head and moved on.

Brick's chicken pot pie did woo the judges, who both gave it a swift thumbs up after the first bite. Chef told the cadet that it tasted just like his mama used to make before the terrorists took her. Brick stood there confused at the odd compliment and it's even more strange afterthought as the judges moved on.

When Chris and Chef approached Lightning's station, their expectations were cut as low as possible.

Lightning nervously held out a silver platter, a small rectangular shape that looked to be covered in powdered sugar laying in the center of it alone. Chris and Chef shared a sideways glance before Chris shrugged and took his fork out, tearing off a piece of the odd food and popping it into his mouth. The host began choking really quickly and holding his throat with both hands. Chef picked the scrawny host up swiftly and did the heimlich maneuver. As Chris lay coughing on the ground, he looked up at Lightning with utter hatred, "What was that awful stuff?! Tasted like butter covered in flour!"

Lightning just nervously laughed as he hid the open flour bag and the half stick of butter behind him. Chris caught sight of them as he got up, dusting himself off.

"Chef, my book please."

Chef Hatchet looked fearful for a moment before digging a plain black book out of his back pocket and handing it to Chris. The host fetched a pen out of his pocket and began writing in said book.

Lightning watched him, a bit curious, "What are you writing?"

Harold, whose station was next to Lightning's, walked over and pointed at the book, "Is that a Death Note?"

Chris finished writing, handing the book back to Chef as he gave an innocent smile to both boys, "What were we talking about again?"

Harold and Lightning shared a nervous glance at the lack of an answer. Harold, because he was an anime nerd, and Lightning, because a "Death Note" sounded like bad news.

Chris clapped his hands, "Harold! Let's try out that sushi, shall we?"

The host walked past both of them as Chef shrugged at the boys.

Chris and Chef both ended up giving a very weary Harold two thumbs up. The nerd watched as they walked away, whispering something about shinigami.

Heather had made sushi too, surprisingly. Or at least surprisingly to some people. Others knew Heather's tricks, and knew that she likely stole the idea from Harold. Chris remarked that it wasn't as good as Harold's. Chef said the same. But they both gave it a thumbs up regardless. Heather cheered in victory as Harold protested the decision based on the grounds of originality. Heather blew him a mocking kiss as the judges ignored his pleas.

"Alejandro! Dude! I'm loving the spaghetti. Tastes just like my mom would've made if she ever came home."

Alejandro raised an eyebrow, his mind beset with many questions as Chris and Chef walked away, giving him two thumbs up.

Eva's vain attempts at preparing a nice steak had obviously failed at first sight. Once Chris saw the completely black and stiff piece of meat on the plate, he had shook his head and refused to try it. Chef Hatchet had decided to play it safe as well as Eva was left there, grumbling about how nobody needed to know exactly how to cook with the Internet around.

When Chris and Chef finally came across Courtney's station, they met a very confusing sight: Courtney was smirking at them and yet there was nothing on the plate in front of her.

Chris scratched his forehead, "Uhhh, Courtney?"

"Yes, Chris?" Courtney sounded oh so joyful at the moment.

"You do realize that the challenge was to cook something."

"Yes."

"And that those who didn't cook wouldn't win immunity, correct?"

"Read you loud and clear."

"And you understand that your lawyers can't make me give you immunity?"

"Yep."

The host looked puzzled, but decided to just move on. Chef gave a grunt to the CIT as he followed him to the last food station that they had to check.

"Duncan dude, what happened?"

A tray full of brownies sat in front of the delinquent, yet none of them looked good enough to eat.

In fact, the frosting on top still looked freshly applied and if one could see inside of the cuts made between each individual brownie, they would find that the "brownies" were barely fit to be called a solid.

The angry delinquent scoffed as he crossed his arms, "I don't know. I cooked 'em for the right amount of time and at the right heat."

Chris raised a mocking eyebrow, "You know how to cook, dude? What, do they teach cooking class in Juvie now?"

Duncan glared at the host, "Keep making fun of me. I dare you. I've already had a terrible day."

Chris threw his hands up in surrender, "No it's cool man. We're cool. But I can't give you a thumbs up, so you don't win immunity."

"Who gives a crap," Duncan mumbles as the host walked away.

Chris now stood on a stool planted at the end of the mess hall, posing dramatically as an ancient Roman statue would.

"Campers! I am pleased to announce the end of today's follow-up challenge!"

The campers all sighed in relief. It had been a loooong day.

"For the Killer Sharks, Ezekiel, Alejandro, Leshawna, Trent, Brick, and Cody win the reward of the day, which happens to be soft pillow and bedsheet combinations from MyPillow! Those guys are sponsoring this episode! And you get to keep this stuff after you either win or get voted off!"

As those certain reward campers cheered, Chris muttered back to Chef, "Get the spokesperson for MyPillow on the phone. I need them to sponsor this episode now."

Chef sighed, "You gotta quit making up sponsors, man. I have to call these people at all hours of the night. This is just like that time that I had to call the PR guy for Bleach and listen to him rant about how terrible his life was for an hour."

Chris just stared for a moment. Then he whirled around.

Chris put on a wicked smile as he turned back to the campers, "As for the Screaming Bears, for your poor performances today, you ought to all be up for voting! But, regardless, the following people have won immunity for tonight: Justin, Harold, Heather, and Noah! The rest of you had better watch your backs tonight! Especially you, Lightning!"

Lightning gulped as all eyes trained on him. Chris made a throat-slitting motion with his index finger.

Noah just had to slip one more in now that he was safe from elimination, "What is this, Compton?"

Lightning took this moment to raise his hand, "Uhhh, Chris? Lightning knows you're mad at him for the moment, but he wants to know when dinner will be."

Chris began laughing uncontrollably as he leaned backwards, "Dinner?! Chef has been judging you teenagers all day! He hasn't gotten a chance to cook!"

Some of them looked very dissatisfied with the answer. Many arms were crossed as numerous glares were sent Chris's way.

The host stopped laughing as he noticed the malice in the room, "Alright! Jeez! You people are no fun. Chef has some of the stuff from breakfast leftover in the fridge. And I'm sure not eating it! That can be your dinner!"

Multiple screams could be heard as all of the campers ran out of the mess hall as quickly as their legs could carry them.

"Lightning would rather starve!"

"Yeah, hell no."

"I'd rather keep my health, thank you very much."

Chris looked around at the now-empty room as he smiled back at Chef, who was grumbling already.

"I told you that would get them out of our hair quickly. Now it's time to pay up, Chef." The host was mocking the cook with his emphasis of every word.

"Those kids wouldn't know real taste! They didn't go to Vietnam!" Chef argued this as he handed Chris a crisp 50 dollar bill.

Chris grabbed the bill from Chef with a smirk on his face before beginning to look confused, "Wait, I thought you served in the Canadian Army?"

Chef stared right back at him, "Yeah, I did." And the cook left it at that. Chris was left scratching his head a bit, trying to remember his high school history lessons as Chef began cleaning up the mess hall.

* * *

**CONFESSIONAL:**

**Noah:** The bookworm looked to be deep in thought as he sat down, surprisingly, sans book. "Somebody wanted Duncan to freak out back there. It just doesn't make sense otherwise. Things were fine until that exact moment. Hmmm."

The know-it-all stroked his chin for a few moments before something clicked, "Courtney! She looked so smug even though she didn't win immunity! And she got into that nasty fight with Gwen before the follow-up!"

The bookworm smiled, his eyes bright at having figured the mystery out. They dulled just as a quickly as he began strategizing, "Well I'm not going to let Ms. CIT's plot succeed. I'm going to kick her butt out of here so that Duncan and Gwen can fix things."

His eyes widened, "Not that I care though! I don't care about anyone here! They're all morons, really."

 **Duncan:** The punk just carved meaningless scrawls into the confessional walls, "You think you know a person. I just can't believe that she would go for Elvis over me." He grew silent after this, looking somewhat sorrowful and also somewhat angry.

 **Justin:** The model smiled brilliantly, closing his eyes proudly, "Everything went just as I planned! Now Duncan, a guy that I've always hated, will be sent packing and I gain an important ally on the team! I feel on top of the world right now!" He extended his arms as if he was a bird.

* * *

(Just Outside of the Communal Bathrooms)

Duncan opened the door of the communal bathrooms, walking in as he looked into the mirror, noticing how terrible he looked. His eyes were bloodshot, his mohawk was all messed up, and his skin looked pale. He began splashing some water into his face as he fought his sadness over earlier events.

Suddenly, one of the stalls behind him opened. Noah stepped out, his hands on his hips, "Hello, Duncan. Fancy seeing you here."

Duncan growled at the bookworm as he glanced at him through the mirror, "Get out of here, egghead. I voted for Jo like you said before. Don't expect me to blindly follow you again. I'm not in the mood for your smartass comments right now."

Noah didn't look fazed by the threat as he walked closer to the delinquent, gazing at the sad/angry face in the mirror.

"I know something that I thought you might want to know. Might not want to rough up the only person trying to keep your ass in the game."

Duncan looked up at Noah's reflection, his anguish replaced just a tiny bit by curiosity.

* * *

(The Screaming Bears Cabin: Girls Side)

Lindsay and Zoey were getting all of their beauty and cleaning supplies back into their bags. Both of them had currently showered before the elimination ceremony, in anticipation of the party afterwards by the campfire pit. Heather and Courtney were not yet back. Heather, because the queen bee was currently showering. Courtney's location was unknown.

Suddenly, Zoey's head cranes to the window next to them as she heard knocking. She opened it to see none other than Noah. The nice girl glanced around outside and saw nobody else there. She shot Noah a confused look.

"I need to talk to you about voting for Courtney tonight."

Zoey pursed her lips a bit as she stared wearily at the bookworm, "I was thinking about voting for Duncan. You did see what he did to poor Trent earlier, didn't you?"

Noah resisted the temptation to roll his eyes and instead nodded, his eyes genuine, "Yes, but Duncan only did that because Courtney tricked him into thinking Gwen was cheating on him."

Zoey gasped, her hand getting close to her mouth, "H-how do you know this?"

Noah glanced sideways really swiftly, "I know because things were fine with Duncan one moment and then he looked murderous the next. And Courtney looked awfully satisfied with herself despite passing on the immunity challenge."

Zoey pondered this for a moment, her index finger pressing against the corner of her lips. What Noah was saying did seem to make sense... and Courtney didn't seem like the friendliest person either. In fact, she had been quite rude to Gwen, Duncan, and Harold ever since they had arrived on the island.

From watching prior seasons of Total Drama, Zoey knew how badly it rubbed Courtney that Duncan cheated on her with Gwen. In hindsight, she could see Noah's point really well actually.

Plus...Courtney had been pretty rude to Zoey herself earlier when she had generously helped her with her dance routine.

The redhead glanced back at Noah, who looked like he was impatiently awaiting an answer. Zoey felt a bit wrong about this, but she nodded.

"Alright, I'm with you."

* * *

As Noah walked back to his cabin to enlist the help of Harold, he pondered about what he could do to get Lindsay on his side if Duncan couldn't sell Lightning on joining them. This game could get rather close, so he wanted to tie up as many loose-ends as possible. If Lightning wouldn't play ball, the egghead would enlist Lindsay instead.

But he desperately hoped that it wouldn't come to that. Desperately.

He found Harold trying to convince Justin to play a game of chess with him, the male model actively resisting as Harold knelt down on his knees and pleaded.

"C'mon! Just one game! I'll even let you play black this time."

The male model scoffed as he walked over to his bed, "No way, Harold. Chess is a nerdy game. And besides, we both know you would just wipe the floor with me and brag about it afterwards. That's all that ever happens when I humor you while we're on tour!"

At that moment, Harold caught sight of Noah, who stood in the doorway of the cabin examining the scene before him.

The nerd scrambled over to his relatively new "friend".

"Noah! You've gotta play some chess with me! I'm getting withdrawals!"

Noah rolled his eyes as Justin glared at him from the model's bunk.

"Fine. But I get to play black. I always play black."

Harold's eyes seemed to sneak to the side several times before he relented, shaking Noah's hand, "Deal!"

As Harold scrambled back over to his chess set, Noah decided to try being discreet about his plan, now that the unknown quantity of Justin was here.

"Sooooo, I saw that Courtney was being pretty rude to you earlier when Ezekiel fell on top of you."

Harold scowled a bit and adjusted his glasses, "Yeah, that Ezekiel is way too clumsy for his own good. I'm surprised he's even still here."

Noah's eyes shifted to the side a bit as one of his legs fidgeted, "Yeah...what do you think of possibly voting Courtney off tonight?"

Harold froze, chess pieces in hand. He turned around to face the bookworm, "Why would we do that? She was very useful today, and I still need to apologize to her. I think I'm getting past her barriers slowly."

Noah sighed a bit before looking at the lanky nerd, "It's just that she was pretty rude to you earlier, as well as rude to Zoey...and to me...and to Gwen."

Harold shifted his eyes down to the chess board as he continued setting it up, "I guess you kinda have a point. I'll think about it while we're playing."

Noah smiled a bit in victory as he sat down across from Harold, their chess board finally ready.

Justin, who was laying on his bed, looked suspiciously at Noah. That egghead wouldn't be messing with his plans today. The male model dropped down and stood up, walking over to view the game.

"Harold, buddy. I've actually got a bit of a surprise for you. Ya see, I've seen how Duncan has been bothering you in the past. And after the way he treated Trent earlier, I just couldn't stand on the sidelines anymore." The male model looked very convincingly sympathetic to his friend and band mate. Harold just glanced at him after he had made his second move against Noah.

Noah watched the situation unfold with a bit of worry.

"I already got Courtney to agree to vote with me tonight. We're gonna send Duncan packing. And I was hoping you and Noah would join us." The male model turned his devious blue eyes to Noah, who now regarded him with narrowed eyes.

Harold rubbed the back of his neck, "Well...I don't know. Duncan did apologize to me yesterday..."

Justin nodded, his eyes closed, "Yes, but does that justify all that he did to you in the past? Humiliating you on television? Making you seem like a loser in front of the whole world? And what about Trent? The poor guy looked so confused when Duncan attacked him earlier." Justin now put his hand on Harold's shoulder, gripping it gently as Harold seemed to think about it for a moment.

"Alright...I'm in. Duncan shall be terminated today!" Harold threw his index finger in the air dorkily.

Justin smiled before turning his gaze to Noah, "What about your pal, Noah? Will he commit to voting for Duncan? After all, what Duncan did earlier was pretty inexcusable compared to what Courtney did."

Noah felt both of the boys' eyes on him. He avoided Justin's prying eyes only to be bombarded by those of Harold, who seemed to almost beg Noah to help him and Trent out by sending Duncan packing.

Noah knew what he had to do.

"Yeah, I'm totally in."

He hoped that Duncan was having an easier time persuading Lightning.

* * *

(Near the Edge of the Forest)

"So, just to be clear now, you will vote for Courtney tonight?"

Lightning did a pull-up on a thick tree branch, grunting in effort as he listened to the punk leaning against said tree.

"Yeah, Lightning was going to vote for bossy girl anyway. She insulted his vocal chords earlier. And nobody insults the Lightning! He's the best player at everything!"

Duncan rolled his eyes, "You seem awful modest to me, bub."

Lightning dropped down from the tree in front of the delinquent, his eyes seeming determined as he made eye contact, "If Lightning does this, he'll want to become part of your alliance with the smart-guy."

Duncan almost asked him why, before remembering that it was probably better not to piss him off. It was also probably best to not prod Lightning to talk anymore. Duncan had already had QUITE enough of the other boy already, and he had only been talking to him for 5 minutes now.

God, Duncan hated the sacrifices he had to make for this show.

He reluctantly put his right hand out. Lightning glanced down at it before gaining a wide grin and grabbing it enthusiastically.

Duncan felt his shoulder jerk out of place several times as the meathead shook his hand a bit too wildly.

Well, at least he had a chance of sticking around tonight.

* * *

(The Campfire Pit)

Chris walked up to his signature wooden podium, holding a tray of marshmallows that he promptly placed on the head of said podium. He grinned wickedly at the Screaming Bears, who all sat on their log seats in front of him.

"Screaming Bears, back again I see."

Some, like Courtney and Heather, glared at the host. Others, like Noah and Justin, didn't seem to particularly care.

"Maybe we're seeing the birth of a new Team Victory. You guys had a giant advantage going in and you still squandered it. I mean, the other team put Gwen and Ezekiel up for goodness sakes!"

Some of the team glared at Chef for this. After all, he had failed Lindsay's performance for still-unknown reasons. If that hadn't happened, they likely would have won and they wouldn't have to sit here for the second time in a row.

Chris cleared his throat now, "But now, one of you will have to go. If I do not call your name, you are eliminated. You will have to walk the Dock of Shame and board the Boat of Losers. Which means, you are out of the contest. And you cannot come back—"

"Everrrrr," Heather chimed in. Some of her teammates around her chuckled a bit as she stole Chris's line.

Chris stomped his foot, "What the heck, Heather! That's my favorite part! I've been waiting all day for that!"

Heather smirked at him, "And I've been waiting a year for my prize money from World Tour. Guess which one of us is more determined."

Chris pursed his lips, looking deeply saddened that his monologue was interrupted, before picking up the plate of marshmallows.

"Heather. Noah. Justin. Harold. You four have won immunity." The host glared angrily at Heather as she made her way over to him, popping her marshmallow in her mouth. The others whose names were called followed.

"Lindsay"

"Zoey"

"Lightning"

As Lightning walked up to claim his marshmallow, pumping his fists in joy at not being kicked off, Chris looked at the two remaining campers sitting on logs.

Duncan and Courtney.

Duncan spared a sideways glance at Courtney. The CIT looked very confident as she smirked at him, already waving goodbye. Her smirk fell a bit when he grew a smug expression on his face as well.

"The camper who will be leaving tonight,"

"..."

"..."

"Is..."

Some of the already-safe Screaming Bears looked on anxiously to know the ending result. Some were confident they already knew how this would turn out.

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"Duncan," the host said calmly as he tossed the last marshmallow to Courtney. Duncan looked shocked for a moment before slumping in his seat. He probably should've expected that he would still get thrown off after that display earlier.

Noah, over in the pack of safe campers, also looked shocked. He glanced around him apprehensively as his eyes met those of Justin. There was a peculiar glint in those blue eyes that tipped Noah off as to what had happened.

When Noah came back to reality, Duncan had already begun walking down the Dock of Shame.

The punk's head drooped low as he slouched, walking quite slowly. Courtney looked increasingly smug as she popped her marshmallow into her mouth, the treat bulging out of her left cheek as she savored the sight of one of her biggest enemies finally leaving the island.

Suddenly, the Killer Sharks walked over to the campfire ceremony, carrying a bunch of stuff for the party that night. They surveyed the situation for a moment before seeing Duncan walking the dock, a lone figure on a lonely walk.

Someone rushed over to see him off.

Duncan was whirled around by a pair of arms suddenly. He blinked a bit as he saw Gwen. She looked at him with slightly saddened eyes and a small smile.

"You know I don't think of Trent that way, you idiot. Now your outbursts have gotten you voted off second."

Duncan just stared at her silently for a moment before sighing, running one of his hands through his signature green mohawk.

"I know. And I'm sorry for flying off the handle. I just...didn't know what to think when Justin showed me that picture."

Immediately, all who had been listening looked at Justin. The male model threw his hands up, "Hey now, I didn't know what I say. I just thought that Duncan deserved to know, that's all."

This seemed to largely appease the crowd.

Gwen's smile grew into a smirk as she bopped her boyfriend on the head, "It must be this mohawk. I always knew that it made you do stupid things."

Duncan grunted softly as he hugged her, "If you hate it so much, why do you always run your hand through it?"

Gwen performed the action as he mentioned it, her left pale hand running through the piece of green hair smoothly, "Because chicks dig mohawks. Especially goth chicks."

He laughed a bit as he pulled her in for a kiss. Courtney frowned majorly, her bliss at the elimination draining as some others began cheering.

As they broke away from each other, Duncan smiled at his girlfriend, her pale skin glistening in the moonlight, "So you forgive me for being a skeeze earlier?"

Gwen smirked and wagged her finger at him, "Maybe I will...if you watch the movie with me after the contest."

Duncan's eyes widened, "No! I am not watching "You've Got Mail"!'

Gwen mock sighed as she patted his shoulder, "That sucks. I guess I just won't forgive you then."

Duncan looked down into her eyes and felt his resistance break, "Alright...fine."

"I think it's time that you and I cleared the air," Trent approached the couple, his right hand held out peacefully to the delinquent.

Duncan let go of Gwen for a moment before staring down at the hand. After a couple of seconds, he chuckled, grabbing the hand and pulling Trent into him.

"I'm sorry I blew up on you earlier, Elvis. I was acting a bit like a dumb animal."

Trent laughed, "Aren't you always doing that?"

Duncan, who normally would've been insulted by this, just smiled at the musician in a moment of peace.

He heard a clicking noise coming from behind him. Sure enough, there was Chef, standing on the Boat of Losers and tapping his watch impatiently.

Duncan gave one last kiss to Gwen before waving lazily to the other campers, "See ya all soon enough! Hope you enjoy the prison food while I enjoy luxury at the Playa!"

He then turned around and began walking toward the Boat of Losers, now with a bit more spring in his step, his head held high. He mockingly saluted Chef when he stepped onboard. The cook just grumbled as he started the boat up. It slowly drifted away from the dock as Duncan made a peace sign with his left hand.

Silence reigned among the campers for a few moments. After all, that had been a pretty emotional moment.

It was, of course, interrupted by Chris McLean.

He popped up right next to Gwen and Trent on the dock, wrapping his arms around both of them as he mockingly cried, "Oh noooo. How will I, like, ever go on without Duncan here?!"

Gwen shoved the host's arm off of her, "Get lost, Maclean. I've had enough of being made fun of today by you."

Trent shared her sentiment, knocking Chris's arm off, "Yeah, Chris. Why do you always have to be a jerk?"

Chris mimed brings stabbed in the heart, "Well hey now, would a "jerk" let you guys borrow all the sodas in the mess hall for your little party tonight?"

Trent's eyes widened, as did many of the eyes of the other onlookers.

"Do you really mean that?"

Chris nodded, and the campers immediately ran toward the mess hall to raid it. He turned back to the camera after they were out of sight, grinning wickedly.

"Wait 'til they find out what I did to their soda."

The host laughed evilly for a few moments before coughing a bit and directing his eyes back to the camera.

"So there you have it, folks! Episode 3 of Total Drama Wars is over! Our contestants faced humiliation, betrayal, pain."

"But, despite starting today at a massive disadvantage, the Killer Sharks came back to win the challenge by appealing to Chef's extremely crap music tastes!"

The host brought his hands to his chest, "After a cook-out follow-up challenge where Chef and I judged the contestants on their culinary skills, tensions grew high as Duncan got physical with Trent!"

He pursed his lips to the camera, "I was kinda hoping for a bit more action there, but hey, they can't all be boxing matches."

"Some metaphorical puppet strings were pulled by both Noah and Justin, who have now started an unofficial turf war on their team! Hopefully their team becomes more interesting now!"

"After an emotional elimination ceremony, Duncan was sent packing. Really such a shame; he was great for ratings."

Chris shrugged a bit, "Oh well. Don't count your chickens before they lay eggs. Or however that saying goes."

"Who will win in the tug of war between Noah and Justin? I'm putting my money on Justin. When will Mike actually complete a challenge as himself? Will Lightning ever shut up? And how will Gwen fare now that her boyfriend is gone?"

"Find out next time on TOTAL. DRAMA. WARS!"

* * *

**Votes:**

Noah - Courtney

Duncan - Courtney

Lightning - Courtney

Zoey - Courtney

Courtney - Duncan

Justin - Duncan

Lindsay - Duncan

Harold - Duncan

Heather - Duncan

* * *

**Vote Tally:**

Duncan: 5 votes

Courtney: 4 votes

* * *

**The Killer Sharks: Alejandro, Scott, Cody, Trent, Ezekiel, Mike, Brick, Leshawna, Eva, and Gwen**

**The Screaming Bears: Lightning, Heather, Zoey, Courtney, Justin, Noah, Lindsay, and Harold**

* * *

**Elimination Order: Jo, Duncan, ?**

* * *

**Alright, alright, Duncan fans. I'm sorry :( I needed someone to go and Duncan has already gotten plenty of development on past seasons already. Plus, that whole Justin and Courtney situation set things up perfectly against him.**

**I do not own "Hey Mickey" the song. I do not personally know the original artist's name, but I would advise you to look the song up. It's quite catchy and there are many different versions! I also do not own "You Are My Home". That song belongs, surprisingly enough, to Alvin and The Chipmunks. Yeah, those guys.**

**I did, however, write the lyrics to Gwen's poem. Did you like it? Took me a fair bit of time ;) Not great at poetry.**

**Finally, you've seen the first big conflict of the season! Things will be getting more interesting from now on as some major players begin trying to strategically outwit each other ;) We'll see who ends up getting the short end of the STICK next episode, which I guarantee will have an elimination.**

**Please shoot a review if you got this far!**

**How do you guys feel about the battle lines that have been drawn?  
Any favorite characters so far?**

**And who do you think will be going next?**

**See you next time! WhatTheHeck23 signing off!**


	6. What Are You, Raft? (Episode 4)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In today’s challenge, the campers wake up in quite the unexpected situation. The elimination of Duncan plagues some players as others fight to keep their necks off of the chopping block! Who will prevail and who will just plain fail? Find out now!

**Disclaimer: I don't own Total Drama or any of its characters. The Total Drama Series and all of its characters are the property of FreshTV and the parent company of the Total Drama television show.**

**Yo guys! I'm back with chapta 6! Hope you all like it because man was it fun to write ;) PLEASE Review if you like it or have ideas to improve it.** _Please REVIEW the story if you like it!_

**Ey guys, Jimmy Johns, Jersey Mike's, Subway, or Firehouse Subs? I personally prefer Jersey Mike's, but I'm interested in what you guys think.**

**I've developed a good uploading schedule now, because I don't want to rush the story and I want a bit more time to actively think about things before I post them, as we get a bit farther into the plot now. Chapters will now be posted every Tuesday, so make sure to follow the story so that you can know exactly when it posts ;) I might just put a bonus chapter out some weeks if you guys want that.**

**P.S. I put a poll on my profile for you guys to take! If you want more of particular characters, go vote in it! You can pick two choices, and I'll consider the results when writing scenes. It is usually seen at the top of my profile, so go ahead and vote if you want.**

**P.P.S. There is also a community that I created that you can access through my profile. It contains, in my opinion, the best competition stories of Total Drama FanFiction, if you're looking for good stories!**

**To Reviewer Gucci: I'm glad to hear you're enjoying Courtney, Justin, and Noah! They are, of course, going to be doing much the same as they did last chapter from now on. As for Chris and Chef, expect that to continue! I love both of them and I really love using them for jokes :)**

**To Reviewer Will: Thanks for the input man! I’m glad to hear that you’re liking Noah :) Maybe Justin will grow on you, who knows lol? He’s not supposed to be a nice guy though, and neither is Scott. Personally I love the villains of the series. And I might possibly be terrible at configuring accents. Though I wouldn’t expect Mike’s personalities to really be around for too much of a time to need much info on slang ;) I really want to focus a bit on Mike himself. And you have DID? Wow, I have never actually come into contact with anyone that has it. I hope my writing isn’t All-Stars bad lol. Also, happy late b-day!!!**

**To Reviewer TotalPizzaFAn: Thanks, I tried to let Duncan leave on more favorable terms. As for why Owen, Beth, and Cameron are not in the story, I figured that their stories had run their courses. Beth is pretty bland to me. Owen is funny, but I feel like everyone has had their fair share of food and fart jokes. As for Cameron, I just didn't know what the heck to do with him. He didn't really do much besides help Mike and Zoey in season 4. Also, I didn't want too many finalists in because generally finalists have had their fair share of development and have already had their one realistic chance at winning.**

**Without further ado, let us lay our tale in fair Wawanakwa!**

* * *

**Day 4: What Are You, Raft?**

Chris McLean stood on the familiar docks of Camp Wawanakwa, donning his usual TV grin and sporting a pair of black sunglasses.

"Welcome back viewers! Last time on Total Drama Wars, we saw why some of our campers auditioned for this show instead of America's Got Talent! Quite some disappointing performances by Ezekiel and Noah." Images flashed across the screen of the musical performances. Ezekiel posing in a blue light and Noah playing on his fake guitar popped up.

"Lindsay, Gwen, Courtney, and Manitoba Smith were the real stars of the night! And yet, our enigma of a co-host, Chef, decided to only appreciate some of them."

Images of Lindsay walking disappointedly off-stage, Gwen reciting her poetry, Courtney stumbling in her dance routine, and Manitoba Smith hollering at the audience show on-screen, followed by one of a 15 year old boy with greasy black hair and lots of pimples posing for a yearbook photo.

"Ahhhh! Why is that in there!?" Chris desperately tried to cover the screen, but failed to as the image quickly turned off. Now, the viewers could once again see Chris Maclean, only now he looked steaming mad as he clenched his fists.

"I'll get Chef for that later."

Then, seeming to realize what that sentence implied, he put on an obviously-fake smile and looked back at the camera, chuckling.

"For putting that random yearbook photo of that boy I don't know up there. Hardy har har, Chef. I'm sure that boy feels very sad about your prank, though."

Chris seemed to slouch down for a moment before straightening back up.

"After a follow-up where the campers showed their culinary skills off, our male model Justin pulled some strings to get bad boy Duncan eliminated. And you should've seen the tension between Duncan and Trent! It was craaazy! But alas, it didn't get as intense as the fights in the prison mess hall." Images popped up now of Duncan standing over a confused Trent and then of Justin and Courtney talking shadily bear the edge of camp. Then another appeared of Duncan walking the dock of shame.

"Such a shame. Who will make fun of Harold now that Duncan is gone? I need answers!"

The host then turned his head to the left as the screen closed-in on his face, "Stay tuned for Episode 4 of TOTAL. DRAMA. WARS!"

* * *

**Dear Mom and Dad I'm doin' fine,**

(The camera pans over the cliff, where Scott, Alejandro, and Ezekiel are peering over the edge as some of the sharks wave them down. Ezekiel and Alejandro look at each other before Scott lets out a scream)

**You guys are on my mind.**

(The camera jumps down into water, where Harold is swimming. Nearby, a boat race is happening between Courtney, Jo, and Heather. Courtney's boat runs over Harold's head as she paddles ferociously)

**You asked me what I wanted to be**

**And now I think the answer is plain to see,**

(On the beach, Gwen and Duncan lay together in a towel. They lean in to kiss, only for Duncan to fall backwards into the sand after hearing Scott's scream)

**I wanna be famous.**

(Noah and Justin are push-fighting outside the confessional as Leshawna walks out of it and shoves Noah to the ground. Justin starts laughing at him until Leshawna steps on his foot)

**I wanna live close to the sun,**

**Go pack your bags, 'cause I've already won,**

(Zoey can be seen in the mess hall holding Mike's hands and leaning in. Mike suddenly clutches his head and runs out the door)

**Everything to prove, nothing in my way**

**I'll get there one day.**

(The camera pans to outside of the mess hall, where Mike trips over the steps and falls on top of Lightning, who was on his morning run outside. They both groan in pain)

**Cause, I wanna be famous!**

(The camera pans to the front of the cabins. Brick and Lindsay are sitting next to each other on the steps, where she is seen talking to him about fashion. She sees Trent walking by and tries to fix her hair, only to topple off of the steps)

**Na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na!**

(The camera pans back over to the campfire at night, where all of the campers sit in the middle on the log-seats except for Cody, who is leaning against Chris's podium and trying to flirt with Eva, who has her arms crossed. Chris comes over and shoves Cody off of the podium as Chef tells him a joke and he laughs maniacally)

**I wanna be, I wanna be, I wanna be famous**

**I wanna be, I wanna be, I wanna be famous**

(The camera slowly fades out as it leaves the campfire and slowly shifts to the indigo sky scattered with bright white stars. All of the campers whistle as the intro ends)

* * *

(?)

"Ugghhhh, why is it so bright this morning?"

Cody groaned as a stray ray of sunlight directed itself right at his eye. He tried to shift his position, only to find that something behind him was stopping him from doing so. The geek frowned in a bit of frustration.

That's when he noticed how cold he was. He attempted to grope blindly for his newly-won soft covers, only to find himself clutching nothing around him. He banged his fist on what he thought was his bed before rolling over in a huff.

If only he knew where he was rolling over to.

Cody's eyes were forced open as he emerged on the surface of water. "What?! Water?!" He gasped for breath as he found himself floating alongside a medium-sized wooden raft, his other teammates unconsciously sleeping on it. Another raft floated not that far from the first, the members of the Screaming Bears sleeping on that one.

Some of his fellow campers began waking up after hearing his screams.

"Which one of you gals woke me up with your banshee-screaming?" Scott was among the first to wake up, rubbing his head quite wearily as his gray eyes began scanning the area around him.

"Ah, nice waterfront view," he began scratching his back as his lazy eyes closed and he sniffed the ocean breeze.

Moments later, Cody watched as his eyes flew open and he began panicking, "What are we doing out here?!"

Alejandro banged his own head against the wooden raft before sitting up, "Will you stop shouting? It's hard enough to think about the situation when you're all so loud."

Leshawna cut into the conversation as Cody climbed back into the raft, "I think that Chris's fingerprints are alllll over this. Didn't he do something like this last season?"

Gwen nodded, scowling a bit as she remembered that particular experience, "Yeah. I'm just glad I'm not locked in a treasure chest and buried underground this time." She put her left hand on her forehead to shield her eyes as she looked toward an island in the far-off distance.

"I'm guessing we'll be doing a challenge there."

Eva got up, her face very strained as she looked at all of them, her ponytail a bit disheveled, "That means that that dead man Maclean will be here soon. And he'd better have an excuse for why we're here."

Brick rubbed his head, groaning a bit from how his neck felt after sleeping on the hard wooden raft, "How DID we get out here? Chris said that all of the mutant stuff was gone, and mutant turkey is how he got everyone out here last time."

Cody scratched his wet head a bit as he pondered this, the others around him doing the same.

"Maybe he just moved us while we slept?"

None of them looked very convinced of this theory. Trent rubbed the back of his hair, trying to make it look more neat but failing due to his lack of a mirror.

"Hey...does anyone else remember anything after the party last night?" The musician asked this question to his teammates uncertainly. Some of them began thinking back to the night before as well.

Brick shrugged a bit, "All I remember is drinking soda and having fun. I remember that Cody made a bit of a fool of himself by hitting on all of the girls there."

Cody protested, "Hey, I didn't look that stupid. They were digging the Codemeister."

Gwen smirked at him, "Ah yeah, I remember. I haven't heard such lame pick-up lines since middle school."

Leshawna also nudged the wannabe ladies' man, "Leshawna never knew such a short white boy could be such a tall glass of water," she teased him as well.

Cody stomped his feet as most of his teammates laughed at him.

Ezekiel confused by the figure of speech asked Trent, who was standing next to him, about it, "What does a glass 'a water got t'a do'o with Co'ody, eh? I do'on't get these jokes."

Brick, who had overheard the question, patted the homeschooler on the back, "You'll learn one of these days, soldier."

Meanwhile, Cody glanced around desperately for a girl who wouldn't tease him, "Eva! You don't think the Codemeister's lines are lame, do you?!"

Eva scoffed, rolling her eyes, "Don't bring me into this, short stuff. You didn't flirt with me at all."

Cody scratched the back of his head, trying to remember the events of the night before. It all seemed so loopy now.

"I didn't? But the Codemeister never misses an opportunity. None of this makes any sense!"

Mike looked over at the other team's raft, thinking about what his girlfriend might be doing over there as his team bickered.

* * *

(The Screaming Bears' Raft)

Heather paced around the raft, looking angered about the fact that she had been woken up so early and also that she wouldn't be able to clean herself up and put make-up on before the challenge.

"Uggghhh! Does anyone know how we got here?!"

Noah grunted, "Isn't it obvious, Sherlock? Chris gave us some kind of thing to knock us out cold. Then he brought us out here for the next challenge."

Lightning, who was currently doing his normal morning workout routine on the raft, agreed, "Lightning agrees with the smart-guy. It's just like Chris did last year!"

Zoey trembled a bit, "At least we don't have a mutant teammate with us like I did last year."

Lightning's eyes lit up in recognition as some of the eyes of those who hadn't watched season 4 flew open in alarm.

"Oh, that's sha-right! There ain't nothing mutant around anymore, so Lightning doesn't have to worry about that dirty squid."

"I wouldn't count on that, Lightning."

All of the campers on both of the rafts turned toward the booming voice, only to see Chris and Chef pull up toward them on a speedboat. The host was wearing a black pair of sunglasses and a sun hat, as Chef wore his blue swim trunks covered in pink polka dots. Chris smiled innocently at the teenagers.

"Now how did you all get way out here? You teenagers are always doing the craziest things at your parties." Chris chuckled a bit as he glanced to his left at Chef, "Right, Chef?"

Chef nodded as he grinned sinisterly, "Always with the drugs, alcohol, and desperate boys."

Immediately, some eyes shifted over to Cody. He noticed this and protested, "Hey! I'm not desperate!"

Deadpan stares pierced him for a few seconds until he finally broke down, "Alright, fine. I'm not thaaaat desperate though."

Chris took off his glasses, smiling at Cody, "I'm not sure I would say that. After all, you were hitting on Eva just two days ago!"

Eva stomped her feet angrily, pointing at Chris threateningly, "You'd better be thankful that you're over there, Maclean!"

Scott rolled his eyes, "Great. I got the Dakotazoid on my raft again. Only this time, she's even more of a freak."

Eva stepped toward him, grabbing the front of his white shirt, "What did you just say, dirt sniffer?"

"Aheeeem! Still here if you all were wondering! Eva, put Scott down. I am sooo not in the mood to bring him back to Wawanakwa for medical treatment right now." Chris scolded the fitness buff, upset that the noisy interruption took attention away from his monologue.

Eva grumbled and set Scott down reluctantly. Scott took a quick step away from the angry girl, reminding himself that he should probably keep such thoughts to himself.

All eyes immediately turned back to him, various questions inside of them.

"To answer your inevitable whiney questions about how you got out here, yes, I did drug you. In fact, I put a bunch of sleeping pills into the sodas I let you take from the mess hall!"

Multiple people groaned. They should've known to be weary of random gifts from Chris.

One of them had a particular problem with this, however.

"Chris! My lawyers will put you through the shredder for drugging me! Don't you know that's a crime?!" Courtney threw her hands up in angry exasperation.

Chris, instead of cowering as was expected, stood his ground, grinning wickedly at the CIT. He brought out a stack of papers from behind his back, sticking them out as if they were a defensive shield.

"I don't think they'll be getting involved. You see, if you take a look at section 7.5B of your contracts," here the host brought out a magnifying glass to magnify the specific section of the contract, "you'll see that I'm allowed to feed you anything that I want, as long as it doesn't kill you!"

"So here we are." Chris smirked proudly at the CIT as many of her teammates that were annoyed by her behavior attempted to muffle their laughter. Courtney huffed and crossed her arms, before she quickly had a thought.

The CIT grinned devilishly at the host, baring her teeth a bit, "That's fine, Chris. I'm sure the viewers will approve of a grown man drugging underage girls and boys."

Almost immediately, everyone around her felt their eyes become as wide as dinner plates. Chris's mouth fell open as he suddenly found himself breathless.

Chef began laughing uncontrollably next to the host, pointing a finger at him as he held his stomach.

Chris began slouching against the rail as he held his head, looking like he was going through a mid-life crisis.

"Finnnnee! I won't do it again, yada yada yada."

Courtney grinned in victory as Chris turned toward Chef.

"Chef, why can't I ever win against her?" The host lamented his weakness a bit. Chef responded by patting him on the shoulder and clearing his throat a bit.

Chris took the hint and put a wide smile on again, turning back to the campers.

"Now, please allow me to announce your challenge for the day. I'm sure you'll all love this one!"

The host leaned heavily on the railing in front of him, "Today will be a three part challenge! As you've probably already guessed, two of them will be based out here on the water!"

"One member from each team will scuba dive down below in search of a treasure! Once you've found it, come back up and paddle over there to Boney Island," Chris hooked a hand backwards to motion to the island in the far-off distance.

"First team back there with their treasure gets a point!" Chris threw his hands in the air as he shouted enthusiastically. The campers just stared at him blankly. The host put his hands back to his sides and grumbled.

"Gosh, you kids are just no fun."

He then brightened up immediately, "But next comes my favorite part of the challenge. While one of your teammates is diving, another one of you from each team will race across a jet ski obstacle course over on the left side of the island! At the end is an item that you'll have to bring back onshore first to gain another point."

"Finally, once both of those points are awarded, three members of each team will run a triathlon baton race across the beach portions of Boney Island! First triathlon team to come back to the finish line first wins the third and final point!"

Chris hunched over the railing and began gasping for breath. Chef panicked and began patting him roughly, thinking that the host was choking. After a few hard swats, Chris straightened up and began breathing normally.

"Chris man, what happened?!"

Chris grinned mischievously, "Well, I'm not used to speaking for so long at a time. The campers always interrupt me."

Said campers rolled their eyes at the lame joke.

He now turned toward them, holding one of his hands to his ear, "Any questions before we begin? You guys are being very uncharacteristically well-behaved and quiet."

Over on the Screaming Bears' raft, Heather grunted at the host, "It all sounded pretty easy to me."

Chris's smile seemed to widen, to the horror of the campers.

"I'm glad you think that Heather. I suppose I forgot to mention a few important details of the challenge."

Many of Heather's teammates glared daggers at the queen bee now as she shrunk back a bit.

"The waters are filled with floating mines and, just to keep it classy, sharks and the famous giant squid!"

Scott's eyes widened in horror as he began desperately looking at the water from his team's raft. Others cringed a bit at the mention of the giant squid, specifically Lightning and Zoey.

Lightning glared at Heather, "You just had to sha-ask!"

* * *

(The Start of The Jet Ski Obstacle Course)

Heather sighed. Here she was, sitting on a small blue jet ski out in the middle of the water. Her team had, of course, forced her to be their participant for this part of the challenge. All because she had opened her stupid mouth.

Things were NOT going according to plan this season. First, she had no allies on her team. Then she noticed battle lines being drawn the day before. And now she was being forced to race an idiot farm boy in a sea of hidden mines and sharks!

Speaking of Scott, it seemed like she was a shoe in for victory. Heather glanced a bit to her left to see the farm boy hugging his red jet ski as tightly as he could, looking paranoid as his eyes scanned any ripples in the water.

He was, of course, here because he wasn't particularly known for being good at running (just look back to the first challenge) and he wasn't very well-regarded by his team. His comment about Eva earlier only reminded many of them about that.

Heather glanced once again at the giant timer that rested on a sign to their left. Only about 30 seconds more and she could go ahead and the race would begin.

Heather smirked. She could still prove her value to her team. And maybe if she didn't ruffle any feathers, the two warring sides would tear each other apart long before she was ever in danger.

Yes. Maybe she wasn't in as bad of a position as she had thought. She definitely wasn't as bad off as Scott, who had devolved into a nervous wreck over there. She scoffed a bit at the thought. If he thought this was dangerous, then Chris had obviously gone way easier on the season 4 contenders than she had thought.

* * *

(The Screaming Bears' Raft)

"Alright, so who here can dive?" Courtney put her hands on her hips as she questioned the rest of her team. Without Heather there, nobody seemed to question her authoritative attitude.

"Lightning can dive. He'll wrestle any shark that gets in his sha-way!" Lightning enthusiastically began wrestling with an invisible shark to prove his point.

Some of the others who didn't know Lightning, like Justin and Harold, just shot weirded-out glances at him. Others, AKA Zoey, were so numb to Lightning's shenanigans by now that it didn't even faze them.

Noah just slapped his forehead. Of course, he had gone for the one person that was almost as dumb as Lindsay. Honestly, whoever distributed luck in the universe seemed to hate him a great deal.

Courtney curled her lip up a bit dissatisfiedly, "I would let you do it, Lightning, but it's obvious that you would be more useful in the running portion later. So we're gonna need someone else."

Zoey protested a bit, "Actually Courtney, Lightning can't ru—"

Lightning quickly moved to cover the indie girl's mouth, smiling at his now-weary teammates, "Lightning can totally run around that island. I could even do it blindfolded if need be!"

Justin rolled his eyes, "Will you just shut up already? We kind of need to decide who's going to dive quickly."

Noah blandly agreed, "Yeah, and you'll be giving the devil over there," for this, Noah pointed lazily over at Chris, who was lounging on his boat, "new ideas to make things harder on us."

Lightning huffed a bit as he sat down on the raft, his arms crossed. He was surprised to see that Lindsay sat next to him, giving him a sympathetic smile as his teammates argued.

"It's alright, Thunder. Nobody listens to me that often either."

Lightning scowled a bit at the blonde, "The name is Lightning! And nobody listens to Lightning because they're jealous of my talents."

Lindsay frowned a bit as she scratched her head, "I'm sorry... I learned to get names down but I haven't really talked to you at all since we got here."

She then cocked her head to one side at him, "Don't you think you're being a bit braggy? Maybe people would like you more if you were nicer?"

"Harold, there is no way that you are diving for us! You have twigs for arms for goodness sakes!" Courtney could be heard shouting at Harold nearby on the raft. Lightning briefly looked over at the conflict and saw the way that some of his teammates were looking at Courtney. They were looking rather hatefully at her.

He looked down at the wooden raft. Maybe there could be some merit to what the dumb blonde was telling him...

On the other side of the raft, Justin was trying to defend Harold, his arm slung around his friend's shoulder, "Courtney, Harold saved us in TDA. If anyone is suited to dive down there, it would be him."

Courtney scowled at the male model, "Justin, I would really suggest that you don't push this."

Justin fell silent. He would defend Harold all day long usually, but he needed Courtney's loyalty and, more importantly, her vote.

"Ah yes, my favorite strategy for getting people to listen to you: being a total bitch. That one always worked for people like Abraham Lincoln and Gandhi," Noah sarcastically quipped from the other side of Harold, his gaze set lazily on the bossy CIT.

"Why you little—-"

Lightning sprang up in the middle of them, halting the angry CIT, who looked like she was ready to throw Noah overboard.

"Lightning votes that we let the scrawny nerd dive! Nobody else wants to do it and Lightning doesn't want to fall behind!"

Zoey winced a bit at how hostile Courtney was being, "Ummm, Courtney? Harold seems to know more about it than we do...maybe he should dive?"

Courtney opened her mouth to protest until Noah smirked at her, "Anything else to say, Courtney? That's five votes for Harold diving on a raft of seven people. I'm sure you know how democracy works."

Courtney growled a bit before she let out a deep sigh and hung her head, "Fine. Go ahead and dive, Harold." Courtney then sat down next to Lindsay and began chatting with her.

Harold leapt up in delight, pumping his fists in the air.

"Chris! I'm ready to suit up!"

Zoey giggled at Harold's enthusiasm. But then she looked at Lightning, who was now talking to Noah and Justin. What had changed with the egotistical jock, she wondered. He would usually never have supported someone like Harold before.

* * *

**CONFESSIONAL:**

**Justin:** "Yeah, admittedly Courtney isn't the best ally ever. She's annoying, bossy, and very uncooperative."

He smiled deviously now, "I was a bit upset with how she was treating Harold, but hey, we all have to make sacrifices. Even beautiful people. The best thing about Courtney is that she doesn't have a wide choice of other allies, and Lindsay will follow her anywhere. I'm so in-control of this team, baby!" He flashed a thumbs up as one of his teeth shined.

 **Courtney:** The CIT looked very visibly upset as she held her stomach, "Those traitors! Choosing Harold over me. I guess I'm either gonna have to sabotage Harold or get rid of all of them."

She pondered over this thought for a moment before nodding, "Shouldn't be that hard. I've got Justin working with me now and Lindsay is being pretty friendly with me. I hate to use her, but friends are allies!"

 **Lightning:** He sat down comfortably, facing straight forward, "The dumb blonde girl gave Lightning an idea! All he has to do is embrace his sha-nice side and everybody will appreciate him down-flat!"

He brought his index finger up to his face, looking up, "Sha-huh, I guess what they say is true. Everyone has some sort of use. Even people who seem useless!"

* * *

(The Killer Sharks' Raft)

Mike rubbed his palms together as he looked at Brick, "Don't you think it was a bit cruel to make Scott do the jet ski portion? I mean, he's deathly scared of sharks."

Brick shrugged, "I would never have made him do it, even if I do dislike him a great deal. But I wasn't going to question Eva." The cadet glanced at the fitness buff quickly, seeming a bit nervous that she may have heard him.

Alejandro stood up and walked to the middle of the raft, his hands on his hips confidently, "Alright team! Who here has diving experience?"

Ezekiel immediately butted in, "I can't swim, homes, so'o do'on't be askin' The Zeke t'a do'o it." The prairie boy was acting a bit defensive after Alejandro had voluntold him to go raid one of the enemy forts two challenges ago.

Eva grunted, "Way to show some courage there, homeschool. I would do it, but I'd probably be more useful in the race."

Gwen rubbed her chin a bit, "Maybe we should decide who will be racing first. No point in picking someone really skilled to just go diving."

Trent seconded that, "Yeah, I'd figure pretty much any of us could do the diving portion." He smiled a bit at Gwen, who turned away a bit. This confused the musician. What was up now?

Alejandro nodded as he scanned the others, "Alright. Eva will be running. How about Brick too? You seem pretty physically fit to me, amigo." The Latino elbowed Brick a bit complimentarily. Brick smiled at him and saluted.

"I would be honored to race for our team, captain. I jog around the island every morning!"

"Anyone else?" Alejandro's eyes lingered a bit on Ezekiel, who tried to hide behind Eva. The fitness buff didn't seem interested in shielding him, however, and she pulled him back into sight by his hoodie.

"I'll do it."

All eyes drifted to Mike, who had a fist clenched in the air. The boy looked determined.

"I've messed up the past few challenges. I want to prove myself to this team, as Mike."

Cody walked up to him, "It's not necessary Mike, really. I mean, Manitoba Smith won us the last challenge! And you did pretty well in the first challenge."

Trent agreed, "You've more than proven yourself."

Mike insisted, "I at least want to prove that I can do this for myself. I know that I can do it, guys! I used to run track in middle school."

Ezekiel scratched his hairy chin a bit, "Well, we do'on't really have that many other options, guys. I think we should let Mike do'o it, eh. God kno'ows I can understand wanting t'a pro'ove yourself."

"I agree with Zeke here. Leshawna isn't exactly a fast runner. And Mike looks like he might be pretty fast." Leshawna smiled at Ezekiel and Mike.

"Let the soldier do it! He's got that fire in his eyes." Brick pulled Mike to his side, giving him a thumbs up.

Alejandro nodded, "Yes, I think Mike would be a good pick. So our running order will be Eva, Brick, and Mike."

Cody cocked an eyebrow, "So who wants to dive?"

Alejandro sighed a bit, rubbing his arm, "I could do it if nobody else wants to. I just prefer to avoid water because of how it feels against my burn scars."

Cody flinched a bit at the sight of Alejandro's unsightly scars and their reminder of Hawaii, "No, I don't think you should do that, Al. We have plenty of able-bodied people here."

Alejandro looked genuinely surprised, "You mean that you don't hate me anymore, amigo?"

Cody shrugged, a small smile pulling at his lips, "Hey, you got punished for everything you did. I think you learned your lesson, a bit tenfold actually."

The Latino smiled at the short geek before Leshawna jumped in.

"I think that Trent should dive."

Trent's eyes bulged as everyone looked at him, "Why me? I'm not particularly good at it."

Leshawna nervously laughed a bit, "Alejandro can't do it because of his scars. Cody is a bit...too weak, no offense of course. Ezekiel can't swim. Gwen has weak legs, and I'm a bit big to be fitting into a diver suit." Cody looked a bit put-out by Leshawna's assertion that he was weak, but he didn't say anything. Gwen grinned a bit at her friend.

Ezekiel walked over to Trent, "Ya kno'ow, she does have a point, eh. Trent here is really the best choice."

Trent looked a bit nervous at this, until Cody walked over to him and began whispering in his ear as the others discussed the idea.

"C'mon Trent, this is your chance to prove yourself! You can be the hero that finds the treasure! Everybody will know you've grown since TDA."

Trent looked down as Cody talked, thinking about it. His friend might be right. Trent's reputation had been ruined after his challenge-throwing in TDA, and he hadn't really shined yet this season. He couldn't just let an opportunity like this pass by. Plus, he glanced at Gwen now, maybe if he won, Gwen would tell him what was wrong. He knew that Duncan being booted would bum her out, but he and Duncan had shaken hands before the punk left. Why was Gwen giving him the cold shoulder again?

Once the tech geek was done with his pep talk, Trent grinned widely at his team.

"Alright! Let's get Chris over here to suit me up."

* * *

**CONFESSIONAL:**

**Cody:** The geek rubbed his arm a bit passive-aggressively, "I'm so tired of people underestimating me. I can be strong too, right?!" He flexed his biceps, only to find that his hand wrapped completely around it. He sighed, "Dang, if I was stronger, I would be respected by my team AND by the ladies. Gotta beef up."

 **Leshawna:** She had her hands on her hips, "Do I like that Alejandro is playing leader? Definitely not. But I figure that he'll be more liable to slip up with all of the attention on him. I know this nice guy thing is an act. And I'm not going to be the fool who falls for it again."

She then looked at the camera, her eyes lightening up, "As for why I volunteered Trent? I could tell that Gwen was a bit uncomfortable being too close with him after what happened with Duncan yesterday. And I knew that Trent would be constantly trying to talk to Gwen if he stayed on the raft."

 **Mike:** He looked extremely weary and his eyes are half-lidded, "I HAVE to keep it together for this challenge. I don't know how, but Manitoba Smith got out yesterday! And I thought Chester was giving me problems!" Mike threw his hands up in the air exasperatedly.

He brought his hands back down to rest on his knees as he sighed, "I just want to be normal and prove myself as a competitor. Not Vito. Not Svetlana. Not Manitoba. And not Chester. I want people to see Mike winning challenges. And I want Zoey to see me as only Mike too."

He looked down, a bit saddened, "I want to be a normal guy for her. She deserves that. After all, she's the most amazing girl I've ever met." His eyes now went up to the ceiling, looking like he was daydreaming as a smile replaced his previous frown.

* * *

(Jet Ski Obstacle Course)

Heather watched the timer like a hawk, tightening her grip on her jet ski's handles.

"3...2...1...GO!"

Immediately, Heather stomped her foot aggressively onto the gas (called acceleration) pedal. She took off like a rocket, leaving Scott in the dust.

She grinned victoriously as she pumped her hands up in the air. That is until she saw a giant twisty ramp up ahead, looking very much dangerous to slide through on a jet ski. But Heather was used to Total Drama by now.

The queen bee closed her eyes as her jet ski skidded across the metal, tipping dangerously to the side as she twisted upside down on the ramp.

Her jet ski went left side first back into the water and she sputtered, trying to pull herself back on quickly.

As she finally got her jet ski upright again and steadied herself on it, another jet ski raced past her, Scott smirking back at her on it as he waved back mockingly.

"I'll see ya at the finish line, queenie!"

Heather growled angrily and stomped back onto her gas pedal, revving her hands on her handlebars and taking off after the farm boy.

* * *

(Underwater)

Trent squinted his eyes a bit as he slowly sank under the water, shooting a glance back up at his team's raft as he wondered how he had ended up doing this. He had maybe gotten a bit too excited in the moment at the thought of redeeming himself.

Now it was a bit too late to turn back. And that worried him. He had never dived before.

Everything around him looked so vast and endless. The treasure could be anywhere! And it didn't help his case that Harold was the one he was going up against down here. The nerd was amazing at diving; Trent knew this from how often he had been forced to listen to one of Harold's ramblings about his many skills.

Trent began searching the immediate ocean floor, thinking that maybe Chris hid some kind of tiny treasure underneath a rock or even in some coral or seaweed. After about ten minutes of looking, however, the musician lost some hope in his method.

He glanced over at where Harold had been, only to find that the lanky nerd was no longer in sight. Trent raised an eyebrow. Where could he have gone? At least when Harold was nearby, Trent could have confidence that they would get nowhere together.

After a few moments of thought, he decided to swim in the direction that he thought Harold had went. Who knows, maybe his friend had found a clue to where the treasure was.

After a few minutes of swimming in one direction, Trent paused, looking around. Where could Harold have gone? Would Chris have even hid the treasure this far from the rafts? Trent scratched his helmet a bit as he thought about it, glancing around.

That was when his eyes caught sight of something that looked a bit hazy from a distance. He decided to investigate.

The musician found that the hazy thing was actually a large cavern, the mouth of it being roughly the size of a mansion. He felt a bit nervous as he looked at it. Could sharks live in here?

He shook his head to get such thoughts out of his head, slapping his helmet on the face. He had to check. This was just the place that Chris would hide something. Even if it was dangerous...

Even if it was dangerous, he had to go inside. He had to win this to prove that he was a different person now; a winner.

With his mind made up, Trent reluctantly let the water drift him into the large cavern, seeing a host of stalactite and stalagmite on the ceiling and floor. He shuddered a bit as he saw some fish skeletons lying around. Yep, this was definitely where the treasure was.

He cursed his luck. He should have never have signed up for this show in the first place.

* * *

(Jet Ski Obstacle Course)

Heather caught up to Scott slowly but surely, riding next to him as they maneuvered through an area of jagged rocks and floating mines. Heather was slightly more agile on her jet ski than Scott was, and so she was maneuvering a bit quicker through all of the obstacles.

"How the heck is your farm butt keeping up with me?! I thought little Scotty was too scared to come out onto the water?" Heather mocked him as she threw her head to the left to glance at him.

Scott just smirked at the queen bee, flipping her the bird. Heather gawked at him, having not thought he would have the nerve to do such a thing.

"Maybe you shouldn't count out loud so loudly! I would never have taken off so quickly if ya hadn't have warned me about when we could go!"

He then thought to add on to it, "And I wasn't really that scared! I was just tryin' to psych ya out so I could come from behind for the gold medal!"

* * *

**CONFESSIONAL:**

**Scott:** He's leaning one of his shoulders against the wall of the confessional, "Alright, so maybe I lied a bit. I'm deathly terrified of sharks and of the water," Scott began shivering a bit as he grew a panicked look on his face.

His face grew a smirk after a few seconds, "But she didn't have to know that. Hearing that I may have outwitted her only made her drive more carelessly."

* * *

Heather grunted, turning back to the front. The queen bee began accelerating a bit more as she tried to take the advantage.

Scott would have seen this, but he was a bit more focused on something on his immediate right. The object looked startlingly like a shark fin, and it was keeping up the pace against his jet ski.

Scott let out a scream as he tried to accelerate. His jet ski began moving a bit erratically at the new speed. The farm boy was still far behind Heather, but he had greater concerns now as the shark kept up the pace, popping its head up over the water as it swam, shooting him a toothy grin.

That's when Scott noticed that one of its teeth was cut in the middle. His eyes widened in absolute horror as he made the connection. What other shark would just follow a random jet ski at this kind of a speed. And Chris had mentioned that all of the mutant animals had been treated.

"F-F-Fannngggggg!"

Fang grinned at Scott, hopping out of the water at him. The farm boy screamed and laid his foot down as hard as he possibly could on the gas pedal. The jet ski just barely avoided Fang's air-tackle as it shot forward at unsafe speeds.

This is where things began going wrong.

As was mentioned before, while Heather was pretty masterfully controlling her jet ski and drifting into turns in the extremely dangerous waters, Scott was driving like a novice. And excess speed only made it harder for him to control his jet ski.

The farm boy began noticing this as even the smallest tilt of his wrist made his jet ski begin to sway extremely to the left and right. He began panicking as he put both of his hands on the wheel and began desperately trying to take control back. He glanced back, not being able to actually look but knowing that Fang was still tailing him. That shark was incredibly persistent, especially when it came to ruining Scott's life.

Scott ended up being right, as he felt something graze his leg. He looked down in horror to see a shark tooth wedged into his shoe, which thankfully had mostly protected him.

This only ended up making the problem worse, as he was so terrified that he began turning his wheel way harder than he should have.

Heather screamed as she saw the farm boy's jet ski going out of control and gaining on her rapidly. She tried to drift her jet ski out of the way, only to find out that Scott's jet ski was now moving so erratically that it didn't matter. She attempted to jump overboard to save herself, but didn't have enough time. Scott crashed into her at Mach speed, pushing both of them and their jet skis into one of the floating mines nearby. All of the mines began exploding as Scott and Heather flew toward Boney Island in the air, crashing into the water just off-shore. Fang also flew into the air, looking extremely dazed as he crashed into the water nearby

* * *

(Underwater Cavern)

Trent searched every corner of the cavern, making sure to look intently between each jagged piece of stalagmite near him as he floated slowly through.

His eyes shot up as he saw a giant side-passage near the back of the cavern. He cautiously drifted up to the side of it, peeking inside and hoping to god that nothing that could possibly kill him would be waiting inside.

Trent's eyes widened as he looked inside in awe, seeing a treasure trove of gold and silver and other valuable objects inside. Stalagmite and stalactite existed in this extension too, but it was mostly covered. Trent marveled at the riches inside and then began wondering what the heck Chris's treasure could be among such a large room of treasure.

That was when his eyes landed on Harold, who was in the corner and almost camouflaged against the cavern wall in his dark brown diving suit. The nerd turned around quickly, a familiar object in his hands as he spotted Trent and narrowed his eyes.

Trent pressed the intercom button in his suit head, narrowing his eyes in challenge as well.

"Give me the Gilded Chris, Harold, or I'll take it from you."

Harold pressed his intercom button as well, breathing heavily and saying but one word as he crouched into a cowboy position, holding his hands out and wiggling his fingers threateningly as if he was about to draw a gun from his hip.

"No."

Trent immediately jumped into the same position, feeling a bit silly but also a bit exhilarated as he and Harold had a cowboy stand-off in diving suits.

Harold let out a battle cry as he rush-swam at Trent, trying to karate chop him but being side-stepped easily due to how slowly he floated downward at his opponent.

Harold turned around, his nostrils flaring as he smiled and made another karate pose.

"I can do this all day."

Then Harold saw that Trent's eyes had widened and that the other boy looked absolutely terrified. The lanky nerd smiled proudly, crossing his arms.

"I know that I'm intimidating, Trent, but c'mon, let's at least have a fair fight here. Give me your all!"

Trent gasped and slowly pointed a trembling finger behind Harold. The nerd got the hint and nervously turned around.

Behind him was a giant pink squid, it's yellow eyes narrowed dangerously at him as it's 10 tentacles floated mindlessly around the cavern entrance. Its eyes drifted down to the Gilded Chris award in Harold's arms, to which the nerd just smiled nervously and chuckled a bit.

"Uhhh, I'm taking it to get it fixed?"

The giant squid immediately wrapped a tentacle around Harold, bringing him up close to its face as it shook him dangerously around, the nerd clenching his eyes shut and holding onto the award as he screamed.

This broke Trent out of his stupor. He looked around frantically for something to use against the squid, scanning the treasure around him quickly, but finding nothing that could be weapon used. Everything was either an old antique or some kind of currency!

That was when he felt the cavern rumbling dangerously, some of the ceiling cracking a bit under some sort of enormous impact on the surface.

He was a bit scared for a moment, thinking that the literal apocalypse was happening around him. That is, until he saw a piece of jagged stalactite break off from the cavern ceiling and drift down to the ground.

His eyes locked on it and he swiftly sneaked over to it, hiding it behind his back as he swam up around the side of the giant squid. Thankfully, the squid didn't catch sight of Trent. It didn't even notice that the cavern was collapsing! It was too busy toying with poor Harold.

Trent took out the stalactite piece and hesitated briefly before swallowing his courage and jabbing it into one of the tentacles of the squid, severing the tentacle.

"Now you only have nine of those, you big ugly thing!" Trent shouted at the squid as it stumbled and dropped Harold, crashing into the cavern wall roughly as it began bleeding.

Trent quickly swam down to Harold, wrapping his shoulder around his friend as he pushed his propulsion button. Immediately, the musician's air tank began pushing them both quickly out of the cavern as it collapsed, the squid's weight against the wall too much for it to bear.

The two boys just barely made it out as the cavern collapsed behind them, trapping the giant squid and stopping it from coming to take vengeance upon them for stabbing it and stealing some of its treasure.

Trent was still running on an adrenaline boost though, panicking badly as he kept his finger firmly on his propulsion button.

The two crashed above the water's surface, and Trent finally let go of the button, breathing heavily as all that had just happened sunk it.

"That. Was. Amazing!" Harold began gushing at the musician as he held onto them, both of their heads bobbing above the surface of the water. Trent could just barely see the team rafts in the far-off distance as he blinked a few times.

Slowly, a small smile formed on his lips as he realized that he had successfully saved both of them.

"Yeah, I guess it was."

"You've gotta show me some moves some time! Maybe when we're on our next tour?"

Trent smiled widely at his friend, amused by his childish wonder at what had just happened. Pride swelled in his chest as he realized that he had indeed redeemed himself plenty down there. He had never even thought he could face off against such a giant animal, let alone win!

That was when Harold brought the Gilded Chris award above the water's surface, pushing it into Trent's chest.

Trent looked at him confusedly as he made no move to enclose his arms around the "treasure".

"What are you doing, Harold? You found it fair and square."

Harold smiled at him genuinely, his eyes gently looking at Trent, "You deserve the win. Neither of us would've made it out of there if it hadn't been for your quick thinking. You take it." The nerd pushed the award more insistently into Trent's chest. The musicians grabbed it and stared at it with wide eyes for a moment.

It's true, he had wanted to bring it back at the beginning of this challenge. In fact, he had desperately wanted to in order to prove himself a hero and to show that he wasn't just the guy who had went psycho back in season 2.

But now...

He glanced back at his friend and band-mate, Harold. The nerd looked so grateful and proud of Trent for what he had done and how he had saved his life.

That meant more to Trent than any award could.

That brought him to thinking about how Harold's team would react if the nerd came back empty-handed. Courtney would surely use it as evidence that Harold was incompetent and useless. She had never been able to let go of her grudge against his friend, he mused. Maybe he could try to help that healing process along in the future.

He made up his mind.

He pushed the Gilded Chris award back into Harold's hand, gazing softly at the nerd.

"You take it, Harold. I don't want it. In fact, I won't take it."

Harold stuttered a bit before accepting it, knowing that Trent wouldn't accept it again. They both began marveling at what had happened in the underwater cavern as they swam back to their respective rafts.

* * *

(The Killer Sharks' Raft)

Trent climbed back up onto the raft, taking his helmet off and breathing heavily as the fresh ocean breeze reached his nostrils. He inhaled it savoringly.

Alejandro was the first to question him, "Did you get the treasure, amigo?"

Trent shrugged disappointingly, looking over at the Screaming Bears' raft, where Justin and Lightning were patting a cheerful Harold on the back as he held the Gilded Chris in the air victoriously. Even Noah was cheering and even Courtney looked a bit happy that the nerd had won them a point.

He glanced back at his team, all of whom had noticed the award in Harold's hands.

"Harold got to it right before I could. It's a real shame. Giant squid messed everything up."

Immediately, the musician was bombarded with questions about what those cryptic words meant. He smiled a bit as he recounted the tale.

* * *

**CONFESSIONAL:**

**Trent:** His smile almost looked like it was going to spill off of his face, "I did it! I did something worthwhile! And now everyone is going to see it!"

His hands clasped each other as he looked at the camera, "I really hope that some of the people back home will stop making fun of me now. I know it was just one thing I did, but I'm not gonna stand idle for the rest of this season!"

* * *

Chris's voice could be heard booming out of his megaphone as he stood up and stretched a bit. The host had been relaxing for too long on his beach chair, and it was cramping his back. Honestly, couldn't those campers hurry up? His back would be the true victim of this show if they kept taking so long with the challenges.

"Campers! I'm pleased to announce that the Screaming Bears have gained a point from Harold's expert diving skills! Nice job dude! And nice job Trent for taking care of that giant squid! I'm sure the viewers back home will love it!"

Trent and Harold both blushed a bit from the praise and their teammates cheered for them, the Screaming Bears a bit more enthusiastically due to the fact that they won the actual point.

"And it looks like Scott and Heather have finished the jet ski course with a Big Bang! The explosion they produced actually shook my boat a little! Messed up my perfect shaded spot quite a bit."

Some of the campers rolled their eyes. Of course. Scott and Heather are caught in an explosion and Chris starts complaining about his shade.

"Thankfully, I saw their bodies flying toward the waters near Boney Island. Once we get there, I'll see who our big winner is! So I would start paddling if I were you!"

The host grinned at them as he snapped his fingers. Chef, now in a boat captain's outfit, popped his head out of the navigation deck and shot him a thumbs up as the boat started chugging along toward Boney Island.

The campers groaned as they grabbed paddles and began slowly rowing back to shore, some of them complaining louder than others. *COUGH* Noah *COUGH*

* * *

(The Killer Sharks' Raft)

All of the members rowed, attaining their arms as they all tried to row their paddles to one side, sitting down quite uncomfortably on the wooden raft.

Gwen was quieter than most. While others were grunting in a bit of effort or exhaustion, she stayed largely silent, the events of the day prior still floating around in her mind.

Her boyfriend, Duncan, had been eliminated yesterday after quite a testy exchange he had with her ex-boyfriend Trent. Apparently, from what Gwen could understand, Justin had shown her boyfriend some kind of picture of her and Trent hugging in one of the fort's from a previous challenge. Duncan had gotten the wrong idea without any context.

Gwen scowled. Justin had meant for that to happen, she was sure of it. She wasn't sure why, but the male model always seemed to ruin things for her one way or another whenever he was around. He had convinced the Killer Grips to blackmail her back in TDA and he also rallied them to vote Trent off.

Of course, that last part had been at Gwen's request, something that she still heavily regretted.

But she was getting off-topic. Duncan had been voted off, and Gwen hadn't come to her senses until the last possible moment.

She had realized as she heard he was leaving that he had just acted on impulse from what he had known at the time. Justin was, of course, a master of manipulation. And so Gwen partially had forgiven him. They could work the rest out when she saw him again.

That didn't mean that it didn't sting that he was already gone.

She had so much to regret on this show. She had alienated Courtney and Trent, lost Duncan, and—

Well, her only other friends on this show were Leshawna, Lindsay somewhat, and...Cody.

Gwen suddenly realized that she hadn't talked to the tech geek at all since they had arrived on the island. She wondered how he was doing. After all, she had heard that he had been used as a battering ram by Eva in the second challenge.

She glanced ahead of her. Cody was the one paddling right ahead of her.

Her eyes studied him closely. His shoulders were a bit slumped. Maybe she should talk to him? After all, sad people usually seemed to relate their pain in movies and it always worked. And Cody had always been good at cheering her up in the past.

She cleared her throat a bit, "Hey Cody, how have you been doing?"

Cody glanced backward a bit at her, a frown still somewhat on his face, "Oh, hey Gwen. Just thinking about some things..."

Gwen cocked an eyebrow. Something was definitely up. Cody was usually upbeat despite anything going on around him. He even managed to keep upbeat every time that she had rejected him in the past.

"Thinking about what? You seem pretty down to me."

Cody sighed a bit, not turning around this time.

"Just some romance issues, as usual. The Codemeister can't seem to find any girl interested in him." Cody sounded really bummed out.

Gwen got a bit of an apprehensive look on her face at that statement. She had rejected Cody many times in the past. She had never really thought that it had saddened him, but this new mood seemed to tell another story.

"Romance issues? Who are you trying to woo now?"

"Eva."

Gwen's eyes widened a bit and she temporarily stopped paddling. Thankfully, none of her team seemed to notice.

"Eva? You're after her? She could squash you like a bug!"

Gwen couldn't see Cody's face, but he seemed to sigh again.

"I know. It's just that...she's the only girl here that knows how it feels to be rejected and looked down upon by others."

Gwen went speechless at that. She had never seen such a depressing side of Cody before. Had this surfaced recently, or had he been bottling his emotions this whole time?

She felt a bit more guilty at this new revelation that Cody felt like he was looked down upon. Great. Just another wave of grief for the goth to handle.

Cody continued on as Gwen processed her emotions, "Every season of this show, I've been made fun of and treated as a joke. People wouldn't stop joking about the bear attack and how I chased after you in season one. They couldn't stop with the Sierra jokes after season three."

"I just thought that...maybe this season would be different. That maybe I could prove myself useful. But I'm too weak to do anything physical and I'm being rejected by another girl now." Cody's voice sounded like a mixture of bitter and weepy. His face still wasn't showing, but Gwen was thankful for that now. He sounded close to tearing up, and she didn't know if she could keep things together if she saw that.

Gwen gulped down some of the bile rising in her throat. She had no idea that Cody had taken such criticism from his time on the show. He had always seemed so easy-going and happy when he was around her in the past. So full of life and determination to never give up.

This was just like what Trent told her. She began to wonder if this show did a number on everyone around her.

"Cody...I'm sorry."

Cody's ears perked up, bit he didn't say anything.

"I should've been a better friend to you...I completely left you at the mercy of Sierra...And I should've known that choosing Duncan over you would make you sad."

Cody drug one of his hands through his hair as he paddled, "It's alright Gwen...I was mad about that for awhile, but I can never stay mad at you... I even helped you with the lights for your music performance."

Gwen gasped, "That was you?!" After thinking about it for a few seconds, a small smile tugged at her lips.

"I really should've known. Not many guys around here know their way around theater lights. And not many would help without bragging about it."

Cody chuckled a bit, "Yeah, what can I say? I know quite a bit about technology. It's kinda my life."

"Maybe that's why Eva doesn't like me...too geeky."

Gwen scratched her head, still really conflicted about this idea. But she supposed that there weren't many free choices for Cody on the island at the moment.

The only single girls were Heather, Leshawna, Lindsay, Courtney, and Eva. She knew that Cody wouldn't go for Lindsay or Leshawna because he was friends with their ex-boyfriends. And she also knew that Heather and Courtney weren't the types to even consider a guy like him. Which, she supposed, left Eva.

It's not like Gwen didn't like Eva. It wasn't like that at all.

Well, actually, yeah, it kinda was.

You see, Eva was an insane rage beast. The girl was silent and almost always wore a stoic, passive-aggressive expression on her face. She acted rude to almost everyone around. She could fly off the handle at any moment.

She knew that Cody liked a challenge, but damn.

But...Gwen supposed she could try to get along with her for Cody's sake. The poor guy deserved a victory for once, even if Gwen didn't entirely agree with it.

And so, she reluctantly offered to help.

"Listen Cody...I can give you advice on Eva. If you want it."

Cody finally turned around to look at Gwen, hope in his eyes and a smile on his face.

"You really mean it? You'll mentor the Codester on how to pick-up girls?"

Gwen sighed, wanting to take it back after hearing how he phrased it. But she couldn't. She did kind of owe him after ignoring everything that he had went through before.

"Yeah, yeah. Just don't call it that, alright? I'll try to help you get the girl."

Cody pumped his fists and began paddling with renewed vigor.

Gwen mumbled this last part out, not wanting Cody to hear it, "or whatever Eva is."

She couldn't believe that she had agreed to help Cody try to tame Eva. But hey, if Eva killed her, she wouldn't have to eat Chef's food anymore.

That would definitely make it worth the risk.

* * *

Both rafts drifted onshore, only to be tied down to small wooden stakes in the ground by Chef Hatchet.

Everyone saw Scott and Heather washed up onshore, with the big and burly cook actually picking Heather up and carrying her to his and Chris's boat.

"Is Heather gonna be okay?" Cody seemed very worried about the queen bee, glancing over at the boat that she was taken to and back at Chris several times.

Chris had an uninterested look on as he looked at Cody, "Yeah, Heather will be fine. We're just going to have to take her to the infirmary right away. So you all better hurry up and complete the challenge! That means you, runners! Go ahead and get to your places!"

Immediately, Eva, Brick, Mike, and Lightning began walking to their posted places around the beaches of Boney Island. However, the Screaming Bears still had a bit to discuss.

Harold whispered to the others, "Gosh, who are we going to send out there?"

Noah put his hands up in surrender, "Hey now, don't look at me. I don't run as a general rule."

Lindsay cut into the conversation, "I would, like, volunteer, but I'm not that fast either. I always get to the premium clothes shops at the mall a few minutes behind my friends."

Courtney looked over at Zoey and then over at Justin, her eyebrows tilted down.

"Alright, Justin. You'll be starting us off. I'll pick the baton up after you. Lightning will go last."

Justin began protesting, "But Courtney, my legs may bend too much and that causes awful creasing all over!"

Courtney walked over to him, looking friendly as she blinked her eyes and smiled. He smiled back, trying to work his magic on her. At least he was until she kicked him hard in the groin.

"You will not be making excuses around here! Now you will get into position because none of the others will be able to run as fast as you!" With a huff, the CIT

crossed her arms and began walking to her outpost around the island.

Noah smirked and laughed at Justin, "My my, seems like your crotch-modeling career is ruined after that one."

Harold helped him up, chuckling a bit as well, "Justin, you should really know better than to back-talk Courtney. You're lucky she didn't shank you for disrespecting her like that."

Justin coughed a bit as he tried to regain his composure, his blue eyes looking hazy, "Yeah, I'll try to keep that in mind." The male model winced as he began hobbling over to the starting line.

* * *

Chris walked up to Scott, who was sputtering water out as he laid sprawled out on the beach sand of Boney Island.

Chris's uninterested look quickly changed as he marveled at something laying next to Scott, "Scott! You're telling me you not only blew up Heather, but also got the item at the end of the course?"

Scott looked up at the host in mild confusion before glancing at the spot that the host seemed focused on and seeing Fang's tooth.

His eyes widened. Did that mean that Chris had hidden a shark tooth at the end of the course?

The farm boy debated this in his head real quick. What should he do?

Very quickly, a tiny version of Scott with a cheap devil costume on appeared on his left shoulder.

"Now hold on there, big guy. There's an opportunity here. You could win the challenge and look like a hero!" The tiny devil Scott pointed his finger at his brain.

Another tiny Scott now popped up on Scott's right shoulder, this one with cheap seagull wings attached to his back and a bent halo on top of his head.

"Don't go trying to cheat here Scott. Chris'll find out and so will your team! And you don't deserve to win after blowing Heather up!"

The devil Scott chimed in, "I don't know. Seemed to me like an improvement for Heather. And it's not like she'll be permanently injured."

Angel Scott argued right back, rolling his sleeves up, "You're right! Heather's injuries will look like nothing compared to yours after I'm done with ya!"

Devil Scott snarled at Angel Scott, "You wanna go, buddy? I was the top pig wrestler back at the farm!"

Angel Scott retorted right back, "So was I! I'm Scott too!"

Real Scott cut in here, looking very confused, "Did I really hit my head this badly?"

Both of the tiny people disappeared as Chris snapped his fingers in front of Scott's unfocused eyes.

"Ey Scott! I kinda need an answer here, brain damage aside."

Scott smiled sinisterly. His mind was made up. He glanced at his team and picked the shark tooth up, closing his eyes proudly.

"Chris, I got this at the end of the course. Heather got in the way and we both hit the mines."

Chris squinted at him before turning to Chef. Chris mumbled to the big man.

"Hey Chef, do you think I should check the footage on this?"

Chef blinked a few times before bursting out laughing and slapping his knee, "Checking the footage? Do you need to come to the infirmary as well, Chris man?!"

Chris smiled and began laughing alongside Chef, "Yeah, I guess I'm just getting tired, ya know, because it took so long for Scott to answer me." The host shot a pointed look at the farm boy, who scowled in response.

"Cool story, Chris. But I gotta go take a dump, so I'll get out of your hair and go looking for the right bush." The farm boy made to walk into the forest before being stopped by Chef's arm. The farm boy looked up in annoyance at the cook.

"Uhhh, farm boy, there's an outhouse right over there," the cook hooked a finger to a giant wooden outhouse just a few feet away.

Scott blinked a few times. Well, that made things a bit more difficult. Still, he wasn't going to let simple facts get in his way.

"Uhhhhhh...I actually prefer to do my business in the forest...so I'll see ya in a few." Scott stepped awkwardly around Chef's arm as he walked into the forest. Chris and Chef both looked at each other, a bit disgusted before Chris turned to the campers left on the beach.

"Good news campers!" Chris then seemed to tap his chin with his index finger in thought.

"Uh, actually, good news for the Killer Sharks, I should say. Scott won you guys the jet ski portion of the challenge! That means it's 1-1 and the triathlon can go on!"

The Killer Sharks grinned and cheered for Scott as the Screaming Bears moaned, especially Justin, who had been hoping to get out of doing the race.

Nearby, someone entered the same forest clearing that Scott had just a minute ago. They had suspicions about what the farm boy was really doing.

* * *

**CONFESSIONAL:**

**Chef:** The cook had his arms folded over each other as he looks disgustedly at the camera, "Things are so different from when I was young. Farm boy going in the woods is just nasty."

Chef wrinkled his nose a bit at the thought, "Maybe that's why the birth rate in Canada is falling! People don't know how to raise their kids! I'm sure I could do a better job!"

He then put a hand on his chin in thought, "Hmmm, not a bad idea actually. I could whip those brats into shape! I might just open a daycare when this season is over."

* * *

Chris pulled an air horn out of his pocket, preparing to set it off just as Ezekiel stepped forward.

"Uhhh, Chris? Where did ya get that air horn, eh?"

Chris just grimaced at the fact that Ezekiel was talking to him. He blew the air horn loudly in the prairie boy's face before quickly withdrawing his arms back, smiling innocently at the other campers as Ezekiel held his heads and rolled on the ground.

They began glaring at the host after seeing Ezekiel on the ground, moaning in pain about how his ears were bleeding. Chris threw his hands up defensively.

"What?! I didn't do anything!"

"Hey Chris, does that air horn mean to start orrrrr...?" Justin looked back at the host. Eva also glanced at him, raising an eyebrow.

Chris glanced back at them, annoyed now that he had wasted the air horn on Ezekiel.

"Yeah! Go!"

Immediately, Eva took off like a women possessed, her feet bouncing off of the sand as if it was concrete. Justin moved a bit slower, bounding after her.

Chris turned back to the other campers, who stood around awkwardly on the beach.

"Soooo...anyone here want to hear my life story?" Chris pulled out a hardcover book with him on the front, leaning against a leather chair next to a blazing fireplace. It read at the top, "The Internal Memoirs of Chris Maclean: Canada, No, The World's Best Host".

The campers groaned as Chris popped the book open and turned to the first page with a grin.

* * *

Courtney dug her heels in as Justin approached her gasping and out-of-breath. She impatiently held her hand out as he stumbled toward her, handing her a stick.

Her eyebrows raised in surprise as she glanced at him like he was on drugs, "A stick? Where's the baton?"

Justin rolled his eyes, "This IS the baton. Chris was being cheap."

"You could've gotten here sooner, you know? Brick left 30 seconds ago!"

"You know, you're only wasting more time by lecturing me."

Courtney pursed her lips and tucked it into her pocket, taking off now. As she faded into the distance, Justin looked at the camera with a frown.

"So maybe I could have picked a better ally...But I guess it's too late now."

* * *

Scott crawled around on the ground, making sure to check completely underneath a host of bushes. Sure, he was getting all dirty, but that had never stopped him before.

He was, as you probably assumed, looking for the invincibility statue. He had looked for two days on Wawanakwa now, and still hadn't found any trace of one. But Scott wasn't anything if not persistent.

Well...persistent to keep his butt in the running for 5 million dollars, at least.

When he had seen that Chris was bringing them to Boney Island, he had immediately gotten suspicious. Maybe the host had hidden it here instead, just to throw him off. I mean, Chris was pretty sadistic.

That was when he heard a voice in the distance. The farm boy hopped right into a bush to hide before screaming loudly.

"Ahhhhh! Thorns!" He spilled out of the bush quickly, falling to the ground as he rolled around trying to escape the thorns that had stuck him inside of the bush.

He ran around frantically in random directions before tripping over a giant vine on the ground, face-planting in mud.

He brought his face up, now covered in mud and looking angry.

"Why does this kind of stuff always have to happen to good people?" He grumbled to himself as he stood up and wiped the dirt off of his shirt.

That was when he caught a glimpse of a familiar head of spiky hair just past some trees, its owner right on the beachfront nearest to Scott.

Scott immediately ducked behind a nearby tree, contemplating his options. The sky was the limit! He could do anything he wanted to sabotage Mike right now, and, if their team lost, he would for sure be sent home!

He itched his nose a bit as he pondered what his plan should be and which one of Mike's personas would be most likely to screw the pooch on the challenge. That's when it hit him.

The edges of Scott's mouth curled up several times as he put on an evil grin. Ho ho ho, this was going to be great. The farm boy began laughing and banging his elbow into the tree behind him before an apple fell from one of its branches, nailing him on the head.

"Owwww. Dumb gravity." He rubbed his head a bit where the apple had hit him before his eyes lit up. He grabbed the apple and chucked it onto the beach, sneaking up to the edge of the forest and watching Mike.

Mike's eyes shifted to the right as he saw a red apple bounce several times on the beach before settling on the sand right next to where the water began. He looked around real quick before walking over to it, picking it up, and scratching the back of his head in confusion.

"Where did this come from?"

Scott snuck up behind him, tip-toeing dramatically before grabbing hold of the back of Mike's shirt and tugging as hard as he could. The result was that Scott fell back onto the sand, Mike's ripped shirt in his hands.

He looked up, seeing "Mike" standing over him.

"Ey yo, why are we out 'ere on the beach?" "Mike" asked Scott this in an Italian accent, his hair slicked back as his mouth drifted in a flat line, favoring the left side of his face.

Scott stood up and brushed himself off again, trying to think of a lie.

"I just brought you out here to get a nice tan. I mean, just look at that sun up there. Those be some nice rays." Scott sweated a bit. What did he know about tanning?! He was basically the color white for goodness sakes!

Vito seemed to buy the lie though. He shook his head and sat down on the sand. "Aight. Could ya beat it though? I don't really like no company while tannin' 'less it's a chick."

Scott smirked and stalked backward into the forest. "Alright! See ya later, Vito."

He took off cackling into the woods.

Vito shook his head a bit as he gazed out into the ocean.

"That guy has problems."

Nearby, Alejandro had been watching all of this with veiled interest. He quickly followed Scott as the farm boy descended back into the forest, thinking that he knew where this was going.

* * *

Brick ran as fast as he could, making sure not to break his proper stance as he held his hands out straight and put one foot exactly after the other.

Courtney had really been giving him a run for his money. Though he had left a bit before she had, the CIT looked determined. He had heard her battle cry from far away as he ran. He hadn't looked back, but he was sure she was gaining on him.

In the distance, he saw Mike. Or, at least, he saw Mike's body.

Brick groaned heavily as he skidded into the sand a few feet away from "Mike".

Honestly, why him? Why now?

The cadet took a deep breath through his nostrils. Alright, he could do this. He just had to be diplomatic.

Brick walked up to where Vito laid in the sand, nervously shuffling his hands as he glanced over at the horizon where Courtney could be showing up any minute now.

"Uhhh, hey Vito, oh buddy oh pal. I kinda need you to take this stick off of my hands and race down the beach."

Vito looked up at him, his eyebrow cocking up a bit disinterestedly.

"And why would I do that?"

Brick gulped. This wasn't going that well. He had to do this fast before they lost their lead!

"Well, you see, we're in a challenge right now, and you're the last leg of our three-man race."

Vito stood up, pointing his finger roughly into Brick's chest as he narrowed his eyes.

"Nah, the twig is the one that ya want. I ain't helpin' that los'a for anythin' in the world!"

Suddenly, they both heard serious grunting and panting in the distance. It was Courtney, and she looked mad determined as she raced toward them with her stick in hand. Lightning was, of course, laying in the sand up ahead.

Brick panicked, placing the stick back into his pocket as he raced away from Vito to where the finish line was supposed to be. Vito looked on and scowled as Courtney passed him, throwing the stick to Lightning, who caught it and began running as swift as lightning.

* * *

Chris cradled the book closely, turning the page very slowly as his eyes lit up at the next one.

"Campers! We finally reached page 63! This is where I had my first date!" The host rambled excitedly.

Gwen groaned a bit, her head in her hands. She wasn't the only one severely bored or disgruntled about having to listen to the host read his own life story. The others were sprawled out in the sand around her.

Chris suddenly closed the book, jumping up on his feet and pointing at the finish line nearby.

"Brick and Lightning are approaching! Who will cross first?!"

The other campers got onto their knees, their eyes very wide as they began cheering for their own teammate.

Brick panted heavily and glanced sideways at Lightning, who just smirked at him and waved mockingly. He had to pour just a bit more strength in.

They both closed in on the finish line, raising their arms as the ribbon fell to the ground with the winner.

...

...

...

It was Brick!

The Killer Sharks all cheered loudly as the Screaming Beats groaned, approaching Lightning, who now pounded the ground with his fists.

"It's not fair! Brick must be sha-taking steroids I tell you!"

Brick grinned as his team hoisted him up in their air and began tossing him up and down in celebration

"Brick! Brick! Brick!" They chanted happily.

Chris cleared his throat quite loudly, now just a few feet away from the Sharks. They all caught Brick and looked at the host, a bit confused about what he would want at that exact moment.

"Ummm, I don't know how to tell you this..." Chris looked a bit uncomfortable for a moment before grinning wickedly.

"But the real winners are the Screaming Bears!"

There was complete silence all around for a few moments before Noah piped up.

"Uhhh, I don't mean to disagree with you here, Chris, because you obviously know everything," Chris rolled his eyes at the sarcastic comment, "but Lightning didn't pass the line first."

Chris put his smile back on, appearing right next to Noah and pushing him down into the sand roughly.

"Right you are Noah! But Brick wasn't the third man for the race! He was the second! So he is disqualified for running two different parts of the three-part race!" The host wagged his index finger in the air authoritatively.

The Killer Sharks looked at Brick in shock. The cadet shrunk back, a sad look on his face now as he rubbed the back of his neck in shame.

"You see...Vito wouldn't run it, so I had to."

They all groaned. The Screaming Bears, on the other hand, began cheering loudly.

Chris smiled at the Screaming Bears, pumping his fist in the air with them, "Yeah! I was always rooting for you guys! A victory by default is the best kind!"

That broke their cheering spree up as they glanced soberly at the host, who just grinned at both teams now.

"And, to give you all a bit of a gift, there will be no follow-up challenge today!"

Trent blinked a few times, as did a few others.

"But how is anyone supposed to win immunity then?"

"Yeah! How am I supposed to win a reward today?"

Chris looked to the side in a bit of disappointment, "Well, since Heather is injured, Trent and Harold almost died, and Brick cheated in the last challenge, I figured that you kids had upended the plans for today too much already. There will be no immunity or rewards tonight. The follow-up challenge has now been penciled in as the follow-up for tomorrow, where I can assure you that you'll be making this up to me and the viewers with a bit more dangerous stakes involved!"

Many of those present groaned, and a few others glared at Brick, who gulped in fear.

Chris began walking away, waving his hand behind him, "Now c'mon, we gotta go pick up the other campers! And then get back to Wawanakwa so we can kick one of your sorry keisters off this show!"

He then whispered to his left with a hand keeping his mouth out of view of the following campers, "My money is on Brick."

The host then seemed to realize that Chef wasn't there with him. He blinked a few times before sighing, "It just isn't the same when he isn't here."

* * *

(Outside of the Killer Sharks Cabin)

The Killer Sharks walked back to their cabin, disgruntled and disappointed that their victory had been torn away from them at the last minute.

Alejandro watched as most of his teammates walked up the rickety stairs and into the cabin. He made sure to pull Scott aside before the farm boy could join them all.

Scott looked at the Latino in surprise, only to find emerald eyes glaring at him.

"You and I have things to discuss, amigo."

Scott quickly slipped a look of confusion onto his face, "What is it, pal?"

Alejandro began steering the farm boy away from the cabin, walking at a leisurely pace as he shot sideways glances at him.

"I saw what you did earlier on Boney Island. I know that you were the one behind Vito's "inconvenient"," Alejandro made finger quotes at this point in his speech, "appearance. And I also know that you were the only one baackstage last challenge who could've forced Manitoba Smith out."

Scott sweat dropped a bit, but didn't let his mask fall. He made sure to keep his face as neutral as possible.

"I have no idea what you're talking about. These are quite some allegations," he crossed his arms defiantly.

Alejandro cocked an eyebrow, "You're just going to lie right to my face? I could expose your misdeeds to the others right now."

Scott inwardly cursed. That was just what he needed: more suspicion cast upon himself. His team already distrusted him and he hadn't made any allies other than Ezekiel. Alejandro was also a snake, but at least he had charm. They would totally believe the Latino over Scott.

"...But I'm not going to."

Scott's eyes widened exponentially as he stared at Alejandro, trying to get why he would make a joke in such a serious voice.

"Ya know, it's not courteous to make jokes when you're threatening someone. Borderline unprofessional." Scott closed his eyes as he let a nasty frown touch his face.

Alejandro chuckled a bit and slapped him on the back, "I'm not joking with you, amigo. I'm not going to expose you because I was just like you once."

Scott scoffed and turned his eyes away from the Spaniard, "Alright, dad. Wanna tell me about the war while you're at it?"

Alejandro frowned dissatisfiedly as he slapped Scott lightly to get his attention again. Green met gray as their eyes met head-on.

"This path will only lead you to ruin. No one will care about you, as you well know. They won't help you when you need it, as you should also know," Alejandro traced his burn scars regretfully as Scott tried to avoid looking about them. His mind was more on his incident with Fang after being catapulted.

"And you will never win the game. The others will surely team up to stop you, just as they did last season and how they did against me in World Tour. You must realize all of this."

Scott saw only compassion in Alejandro's eyes. And he did take a second to mull over what the Latino was saying.

But he wasn't interested.

He had seen how rotten those around him could be. He had seen how they all laughed at his temporary paralysis. And there was no way that he was going to let them get away with that. Nobody messed with him and got away with it.

The farm boy gritted his teeth as he shrugged Alejandro's hand off of his shoulder and stepped back, his hands in the air.

"Yeah, thanks, but no thanks. I have no intention of lettin' anything go and becoming a push-over. And I'm especially not convinced by a stranger like you."

Alejandro looked seriously disappointed for a few moments, until his eyes lit up a bit. Scott looked weary of this.

"That's fine, amigo. How about we walk back to the cabin then. I suppose these things will remain our little secret. But I shall change your mind about all of this." His green eyes looked fiery with determination as he pointed his index finger up.

Scott dismissed him with a roll of his eyes but began walking back next to the Latino.

Things were silent for a minute or two as they walked, until Alejandro suddenly spoke up.

"So, tell me a bit about yourself, Scott. If you want me to keep things hush-hush, that is."

Scott grumbled, but was forced to obey. Alejandro had him by the throat, and he knew it. He would just have to play along until the timing was right to ditch the snake.

"Well, I live on a farm out in the middle of southern Canada. It's just me and my pappy, and we have numerous different barn animals that we raise. We go hunting quite often—"

Scott continued speaking, Alejandro casually nodding to indicate that he was listening as they kept walking. After a little bit, Scott got so caught up in telling his life story that he forgot momentarily that he was telling it to Alejandro.

* * *

**CONFESSIONAL:**

**Alejandro:** He looks a bit sadly at the camera, "It really is such a shame that Scott is determined to keep going down this path. It always ends badly, as I know quite well."

He sighed and held his bicep, "I'm going to try to reform him by showing him how great it can be to be a good person. Unfortunately, if it doesn't work, I'll have to get rid of him before he can do any major damage."

 **Scott:** He scowled at the camera as he used his new shark tooth to whittle a stick absentmindedly, "So Alejandro thinks he can teach me how to be a sap, huh? Well, I'll play along, for now."

He grinned deviously and narrowed his eyes, "But when he finally stumbles, I'll make sure he's out of here faster than a pig can run."

He then seemed to realize his mistake. He slapped his face, "Horse! I meant horse!"

* * *

(Campfire Pit)

Chris walked up to his podium, holding a plate of 10 marshmallows. He shook his head disappointedly at the Killer Sharks, who all sat on log-seats in front of him.

"Sharks, Sharks, Sharks. You impress us all by winning the first two elimination challenges, and then you choke, proving that cheaters never prosper, unless it's someone like Alejandro or Heather." He smirked a bit.

Alejandro felt a bit uneasy as he sat there. Did Chris really have to call him out like that?

Chris continued, his face now solemn, "But now, one of you will be leaving Camp Wawanakwa. If I do not call your name, you will not be receiving a marshmallow."

The camera did a dramatic close-up of the host's face, his eyes narrow as the light from the campfire illuminated his face orange-yellow.

"That means you will be taking a walk down the Dock of Shame and taking a ride on the Boat of Losers. Which means you are out of the contest."

"And you can never come back," Gwen interrupted him with a flat tone and a bored look on her face.

"Ever," Scott smirked at the host, who now looked absolutely livid.

"Ughhhh! I'm going to start gagging you kids during these ceremonies! You always. Steal. My. Lines." Chris ripped his notecards up and threw the pieces in the air, stomping his foot angrily.

Then he backtracked as he realized what he said, "And I meant that in a completely non-creepy way."

Some of them rolled their eyes.

"Can we get on with this already? I have something to do," Alejandro asked Chris, his voice sounding quite impatient.

"Fine! If I call your name, come up and grab your marshmallow." Chris steadied himself at his podium again, a frown still on his face.

"Alejandro. Scott. You both are safe, somehow." Alejandro got up and walked over to Chris confidently as Scott smirked and followed him.

"Leshawna. Gwen. You are both safe." The two girls walked up together, Leshawna smiling and Gwen still remembering the ceremony from the night before.

"Eva. Despite being a rage beast with dangerous and inhuman strength, you stay tonight." Eva glared at the host and cracked her knuckles as she walked over to join the other safe Sharks.

"Ezekiel, somehow you survive a ceremony. Cody, your incessant flirting has apparently not done you in tonight." The two walked over to their other teammates cheerfully.

"Trent, awesome job today with that giant squid! You're totally safe, my man." Chris stuck his hand out for a high-five, which Trent gladly took with a smile as he walked to his teammates. Cody shook his shoulders playfully.

All eyes fell on Mike and Brick, the only two left sitting. They looked at each other, both looking worried.

Chris closed his eyes and smiled, his index finger tapping his chin thoughtfully.

"Mike, you royally screwed up out there. First, you volunteered to be your team's last runner, and then you turned into Vito and refused to race. Quite the screw-up, if I do say so myself." Mike looked down shamefully as Chris turned to Brick, looking irritated.

"And you, Brick, have got to learn what rules are. I mean, cheating? That's a pretty low-point for this show."

Brick put his hand up in protest, "But if I hadn't, we definitely would've los—"

Chris put his hand up, "Don't be making excuses, cheater. Didn't your mother ever teach you to own up to your mistakes?"

Alejandro spoke up from the sidelines, "Uhhh, Chris? Don't you think you're being a bit hard on the guy? I mean, didn't Chef cheat like two seasons in a row?"

Chris seemed to ignore him as he grabbed the last marshmallow, looking between the two of them.

"Now, who is leaving tonight? And who is continuing to fight the good fight?"

"..."

"..."

Dramatic music began playing, the noise conspicuously coming from a nearby bush. A radio antennae popped out of the top.

Chris seemed to fake a throw one way before closing his eyes.

"The marshmallow,"

"..."

"...

"..."

"Goes to,"

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"Brick."

Brick looked at the host with surprise written all over his face as he reached out his arms to catch the marshmallow. He cocked an eyebrow after Chris didn't throw it.

He pointed at his chest, "Me? I'm the one staying tonight?"

Chris laughed as if it was some sort of inside joke, "Of course not! Mike is definitely the one staying. I just like messing with you kids too much." Chris then tossed the last marshmallow to a shocked Mike, who didn't even bother trying to catch the puffy treat.

He stood up, "B-but Brick would've never messed up if it wasn't for me! I'm the one who should go!"

Chris looked at him disinterestedly and shrugged, "I somewhat agree. Apparently your teammates don't. Sorry Brick, time to walk the dock."

Brick out both of his hands on Mike's scrawny shoulders as he looked him in the eyes, "It's alright, soldier. I asked for this."

Mike's eyes widened even more than they had when Chris called his name out, "W-what?! Why would you do that?!" Mike spluttered, very confused about all of this.

Brick shot him a small smile as he shook him a bit, "I asked our team to vote me off. You've got Zoey here. And you deserve a long run. I'm fine with going." Without another word, Brick began walking towards the Dock of Shame, pausing at the beginning of it to look back at his team.

He saluted them, a proud look on his face, "I was honored to serve with all of you. Even you, Scott."

Scott sounded offended, "Hey!"

Brick continued despite this as some of his teammates snickered at Scott, "You're all really skilled people. I'm sorry that I aided in our loss today. And I hope that you all do well in the competition. Farewell." The cadet released his salute and walked down the dock with his head held high. His teammates stared at his back, most of them feeling a bit bad for the brick-house. Most being the key word.

* * *

**CONFESSIONAL:**

**Scott:** He smirked proudly as he held his head high, "Yeah, I might have helped some people along in their decision to vote off jarhead tonight. After all, he was in season 4 with me, so he needed to pay for making fun of ol' Scotty."

Scott propped his feet up now as he leaned back, "Plus, he's a lot stronger than Multiple Mike. Might've taken me forever to get rid of him if I hadn't seized on the opportunity. I'm just glad that my plan earlier worked so well. I think we'll be seeing more of Vito more often." The farm boy started cackling, until the shake of his body caused his leaning position against the confessional wall to slip, making him roll over and hit the hard ground.

"Owwwww. That really hurt."

A second later he was heard again, "Ooh, somebody dropped some nickels down here."

* * *

(The Infirmary)

Alejandro stuck his head around the corner, looking around for any sign of Chef, and more importantly, Cody. He didn't want anyone to see what he was about to do, and the tech geek had mentioned that he was stopping by here earlier.

Once he felt confident that the coast was clear, he stepped inside of the Infirmary tent, taking a quick look around. He had been in here just two days ago, when Ezekiel had been beaten up by Eva. He now came to see someone else who was important to him.

His eyes landed on her, on the far right side of the room. God, she looked marvelous, even when she was sleeping.

He tip-toed over to her bed, making sure to be stealthy. He didn't want to wake her up, after all. Not necessarily to be courteous, but so that she wouldn't know that he still cared. She didn't care about him at all, he was sure.

He slowly pulled his left hand out from behind his back, a nice red rose in a water-filled vase clutched in his hand delicately. He sighed quietly as he placed it on the small table next to her, moving some papers out of the way.

He looked at her with eyes deep with regret.

"Oh Heather, I much prefer you when you aren't glaring at me," he mumbled with a voice full of sorrow. He carefully picked up her left hand from its position on her bed and kissed it, stepping back afterwards as he looked at her.

"If only things had went differently in Hawaii."

"I miss you," he whispered as he quietly left, not in a hurry to get back to his cabin. Cody, who had hid rather uncomfortably underneath Heather's bed after he heard the Latino walking up, sighed in relief at not being caught. Then he seemed to gain a thoughtful expression about what he had heard.

* * *

**CONFESSIONAL:**

**Cody:** The short boy looks incredibly shocked, "I had no idea that Alejandro felt that way about Heather. I mean, I thought his whole nice-guy routine might've been an act."

His brows furrowed as he continued, "I guess he actually is a nice guy now. And maybe...maybe Heather could find some happiness here if they both talked about what happened. Heather's been somewhat of a friend since World Tour, and I feel bad to see her moping about with no one else to talk to but me."

He gave a gap-toothed grin as he sat up, "The Codemeister will have to play Cupid! I'm an expert at getting people together, as long as I'm not one of them!"

 **Justin:** He looked quite displeased, "So Courtney and I just had a chat about some ground rules for this alliance. First, she doesn't harm this beautiful body." The model motioned to himself protectively.

He looked at the camera, now with a smirk, "Second, she convinces Lindsay to be on our side permanently. And third, we get rid of Harold and Noah as soon as possible. Harold because Courtney is a whiney brat, and Noah because he's on to me and her. I can't let that-that ugly bookworm expose me!"

* * *

(Outside of the Killer Sharks Cabin)

Trent's eyes glanced at Gwen as most of their team filed towards the cabin, splitting off into two groups to go to their own respective sides. It was now or never, he told himself. He had to ride his earlier wave of courage.

"Hey Gwen," Trent spoke up, the goth in question whirling around time face him as Leshawna did the same, "I was wondering if you and I could talk about...things."

Leshawna immediately began talking swiftly, like a car salesman as she approached Trent before Gwen grabbed her by the hand.

"Leshawna, it's cool. He deserves an explanation."

Leshawna stopped talking, now looking at Trent as Gwen did as well.

Trent cleared his throat, suddenly a bit nervous, "Well, you see, uh, I was wondering if we're still cool? I mean, you didn't really seem to want to talk to me earlier," he mumbled near the end, trailing off a bit as his eyes began looking downcast.

Gwen sighed as Leshawna met her eyes to give support, "We're fine, Trent. It's just that I was kinda still depressed about Duncan leaving so early and I really didn't want to talk about what happened out there on that dumb raft."

Trent sighed in relief as Leshawna smiled, "Ok, good. I just didn't want things to get awkward again, especially after my heroic moment earlier," his voice became mockingly-macho as he joked, trying to elicit a smile from the goth and Leshawna.

Gwen smiled slightly, chuckling for just a moment as she rubbed her arm, "Ah yes, I'm sure we are all anxiously awaiting your fight with the squid on DVD."

Leshawna cut in here, smirking slightly with her hands on her hips, "Maybe the next Drama Brothers song will be about it?"

Trent laughed as Cody approached from the left, raising an eyebrow at the group.

"What's going on out here? I thought everyone had went inside already?"

Gwen cocked an eyebrow as a smirk came onto her face, "Nothing much really. How's Heather doing?"

Cody nodded a bit at the question, "Well, Heather seemed to be doing well. Chef was carving some wood with his big knife though, so I felt like he wasn't taking too many questions tonight."

The group laughed a bit as Cody slapped Trent's back, "C'mon Trent, we gotta go cheer Mike up about Brick leaving! Ezekiel is hopeless with other people and Scott is kind of an asshole."

Trent followed him, waving at Gwen and Leshawna as he went, "See you girls tomorrow!"

Once the boys were inside of their cabin, Gwen turned to Leshawna, "Trent is so much like he was before. It's good to see him doing well again."

Leshawna raised an eyebrow and sent a lopsided smile her friend's way, "Well, just remember sugar, that Trent isn't the same anymore. You aren't falling into his arms all goo-goo-eyed like you were before."

Gwen elbowed her as they walked up the stairs to the girls' side, "I was not "goo-goo-eyed"! I was dignified!"

Leshawna snorted, "So that's what they're calling that nowadays?"

They walked inside to see Eva already changed into her pajamas and looking like she was almost ready to go to bed. Gwen whispered to Leshawna a quick run-down of the situation as the black girl looked a bit reluctant but nodded anyway.

"Hey Eva," Eva looked Leshawna's way with an eyebrow cocked.

"I was wondering what your thoughts were on the team, girl. Do you think we've got a chance at winning tomorrow?"

Eva looked a bit surprised at the question before grunting, "Eh, a decent chance. Alejandro and Homeschool are pretty useful. So are you two. Shark boy is pretty useless. Music-Man gets lucky sometimes. And Short-Stuff would be useful if he weren't so scrawny."

Gwen raised an eyebrow, "So you think that Cody isn't useful?" She shot a quick sideways glance at Leshawna, looking for confirmation on whether that was a good question to ask. Leshawna gave an approving look.

Gwen sighed inwardly. She really was no good with romantic talk.

Eva seemed to keep her stoic look on, looking away from the other two girls, "He would be useful if he would stop flirting with everything that moves. I mean, what a perv."

Gwen gulped a bit. This was going to be harder than she thought. Luckily, Leshawna saved the day.

"What do you mean with that? I mean, sure he chases some skirts, but that's only because the poor boy always gets rejected. He's a nice guy."

Eva grunted again, still facing away, "I don't believe that. Flirted with everyone at the party. Distracted me during the fort challenge. Then he ran off to visit Heather the backstabber."

Gwen protested, "That's just how Cody is. He's a really nice guy though. He helped set me and Trent up, and he's always helpful when someone needs him."

Eva intervened here, "Is there anything else you would like to talk about? I'm quite bored of this subject."

Gwen looked at Leshawna, who nodded. They might have to get on her good side first. What a dangerous thought: becoming friends with Eva.

Gwen only hoped that she would live long enough to see Duncan again.

Leshawna measured her tone to a friendly one as she laid down on her bed, "So Eva, what's your routine girl? You gotta tell Leshawna everything! I'm trying to sculpt some muscles of my own." The sister winked at Gwen, who decided to go along with the plan.

Eva turned toward them, her face finally showing an emotion: interest.

"Alright then. It's always nice to see someone else taking some initiative. Especially someone that isn't a guy."

Eva began rattling out a rigorous fitness routine that involved numerous exercises like push-ups, pull-ups, inclined sit-ups, running, weight-lifting, etc.

Leshawna and Gwen began looking more at the fitness buff's muscles as they listened, finally beginning to get the full magnitude of Eva's strength. Good god, if there was any doubt before, they definitely wanted to be on her good side now.

* * *

(Playa Des Losers)

Brick stepped off of the boat, looking back at it with a hand raised in question, "Hey Chef! When should I expect my—"

The boat quickly drove off, leaving large waves in its wake as it high-tailed it out of there.

"bags?" Brick finished his question lamely before turning around and looking at the resort. Ah, it was good to be in some luxury, even if it did mean he had to leave the competition.

His eyes lit up as he saw two figures sitting by the pool, wearing bathing suits and sitting in front of a huge TV monitor. He rushed to them quickly.

"Jo!" He ambush-hugged her from the side as she blinked before pushing him away slightly.

Jo chuckled a bit before slugging him in the arm, "It's nice to see ya, Brick. But did you really have to take one for the team to save the string bean? I mean, 5 mil is a lot to just give away."

Brick shrugged happily, "I don't really care much about the money. Plus, Mike has Zoey there. And I have you here."

Jo smiled a bit, looking more genuine than she ever had on the show. She lounged back a bit and patted the chair next to her, "Alright then, lay down, brick-house! Tell me all about what it's like back home. I need to know a bit more about you before I decide you're dating material. After all, I only date winners and you were out third this year." Her violet eyes sparkled a bit mischievously.

He answered back in kind after laying down, "Before I begin, I just want to remind you that you were eliminated first. But I shall tell you about back home. Starting with my mom!"

Duncan glanced at the couple, putting his headphones in with an annoyed face. Yeah, he had to admit, they were kinda cute together. Now if only Gwen were here... he'd really prefer to be the one shoving his relationship into someone else's face.

"Alright, you lovebirds. Just don't make-out in front of me," the punk let that slip out. The unofficial-couple didn't seem to mind him much as they began eagerly catching up.

* * *

(The Docks of Camp Wawanakwa)

Chris Maclean stood in the middle, his hands enthusiastically in the air as the moonlight sparkled on his pure-white smile.

"And that was Episode 6 of Total Drama Wars! Our teams faced water-based challenges and a triathlon race as they tried to prove their mettle and grit in this competition!"

He walked a bit down the dock as he continued, "Trent proved heroic, outperforming all expectations! Scott and Heather proved a bit less impressive, as they blew up my whole floating minefield!"

"In the end, disqualification led to Brick being ousted by an angry team. Mike lives for another day!"

The camera did a close-up on the host now, "Will Heather be able to compete tomorrow? Will Scott get the upper hand over Alejandro? And how long will poor Justin be able to deal with Courtney?"

"Find out next time on TOTAL. DRAMA. WARS!"

* * *

**Votes:**

Alejandro: Brick

Ezekiel: Brick

Scott: Brick

Trent: Brick

Leshawna: Brick

Brick: Brick

Gwen: Mike

Mike: Mike

Trent: Mike

Eva: Mike

* * *

**Vote Tally:**

Brick: 6 Votes

Mike: 4 Votes

* * *

**The Killer Sharks: Alejandro, Scott, Cody, Trent, Ezekiel, Mike, Leshawna, Eva, and Gwen**

**The Screaming Bears: Lightning, Heather, Zoey, Courtney, Justin, Noah, Lindsay, and Harold**

* * *

**Elimination Order: Jo, Duncan, Brick, ?**

* * *

**So that was Chapter 6! I hope you all liked it! I did, admittedly, focus a bit on the Killer Sharks, but that was only because I was setting up their conflicts and because the separate rafts didn't allow me to make everyone interact with each other.**

**Sorry to all of you Brick fans! I really love Brick too, but this decision made the most sense with the plot!**

**Visit the poll at the top of my profile to vote on which characters you're liking the most or the ones that you want to see more of! I might reconsider some elimination plans if support is large enough!**

**I hope you'll review, follow, or favorite if you liked the chapter! Hopefully you'll tell me what you thought or anything you think I could change!**

**Do you think that the alliance of Justin and Courtney will last?**

**Do you think that Alejandro is sincere?**

**How long can Mike last with Scott on his back?**

**Will Trent redeem himself further?**

**This is WhatTheHeck23, signing off!**


	7. Let's Have a Turf War (Episode 5 Part 1)

**Disclaimer: I don't own Total Drama or any of its characters. The Total Drama Series and all of its characters are the property of FreshTV and the parent company of the Total Drama television show.**

_Please REVIEW or Follow/Favorite the story if you're liking it. Also, I would ask you to review if you have any criticisms of things I could improve on. I really hope you'll stick with it and maybe recommend it to others!_

**Check my profile for a quick poll for the story and for my recommendation of two other AMAZING competition fics that I've been reading!**

**So, uh, school is actually kicking my butt. I know that I said I would post every Tuesday, but I might not have the time for that. I don't want to give you a crap story. So, I will make sure that every chapter will be ready in at least two weeks from the last post. I will now only post on Tuesdays and Thursdays, but it might not be every Tuesday or Thursday. Like I said though, I won't leave you hanging more than once between chapters. Is that alright with everyone?**

**I've gotta admit that I'm a bit disappointed that nobody mentioned catching the Dramarama or Clone High reference last chapter. Nonetheless, you guys reviewed! I really loved reading what you guys thought :)**

**To Reviewer Gucci: Thanks man! I, of course, love Brick, but I had plans for so many of the others that it just made sense. And I'll leave Scott and Alejandro up to interpretation for now ;)**

**To Reviewer Mark: Glad to hear that you liked chapter 6. I'll admit it is not my favorite chapter so far either. I'm glad you liked Scott so much. And Action was my favorite season, so of course I'm going to try to do justice to Justin and Courtney. I did want to say that I didn't show Brick convincing the team to vote for him because I wanted the suspense. If I had shown you that, you would've known he was going instead of Mike. As for Mike and whether Mal will make an appearance, I guess we'll all just have to wait to find out.**

**To Guest: I don't mind, my dude. I'm glad you're liking the story so much :) I hope you'll like it as much when I get to some of the twists I have planned.**

**To Guest: Yeah, I do have some plans for Mike, which is why he stayed. I'm glad to hear you like the whole Cody/Eva thing going on. I'm glad to hear your opinion of Justin as _one_ of the villains of the story too. You can take that sentence as you will ;) Trent is definitely set to be utilized more in the story, and Harold and the rest of the Screaming Bears will be payed more attention this chapter.**

**To Reviewer Will: Glad to hear you're liking everything! Brick's departure was a hard choice to make, but I did it with an important plot for Mike in mind. Also, I sorta liked Scott's villainy on the show. With that said, yes, he will go through quite a bit in this story lol.**

**To People on Other Chapters: I'm glad to hear your input on past chapters! I really hope you guys keep reading too! Let's just say that things will get pretty interesting soon.**

* * *

**Day 5 Part 1: Let's Have a Turf War**

(The Familiar Docks of Camp Wawanakwa)

Chris McLean stood in the middle of the wooden dock, his hands up in the air in his usual welcoming gesture as he gave a giant smile to the camera.

"Welcome back viewers! This is Episode 5 of Total Drama Wars!"

"Last episode, we saw our campers brave a three-part challenge, two of which took place in the dangerous waters around Boney Island!" The host's black hair blew in the wind as he posed dramatically to the left.

"Trent proved himself useful for the first time in...how many seasons? Three? Four? Eh, doesn't matter." Chris shrugged a bit carelessly before giving a sadistic grin to the camera.

"Scott blew up Heather, which I am legally obligated to say was wrong. And man! That really steamed Chef! He's tired of having to spend time in the infirmary!" Chris held his stomach as he began laughing. A slow-motion replay of Scott crashing into Heather's jet ski showed on the screen.

After a few seconds, the host straightened his spine and continued, "Courtney hit Justin in the nuts, which he may or may not have deserved. And as I enthralled many of the campers with the best never-ending story ever," He winked at the camera as he silently held up a copy of his autobiography with a sign that said 'Get it today for $49.99', "Scott summoned Vito, Mike's most interesting personality so far! Vito majorly bailed on the challenge, leading to the Screaming Bears winning, finally! Afterwards, we said a quick goodbye to our favorite cadet, Brick."

The host deflated a bit at the reminder, "What a shame. I really liked that guy. Who will we get to throw out next?"

He leaned in and whispered with his hand covering his mouth on the left side, "I hope it's Ezekiel personally. Or maybe Lightning."

The host whirled around and pointed his index finger to the camera with his knees bent a bit to the side in a stage-pose, "Stay tuned for Episode 5 of TOTAL. DRAMA. WARS!"

* * *

**Dear Mom and Dad I'm doin' fine,**

(The camera pans over the cliff, where Scott, Alejandro, and Ezekiel are peering over the edge as some of the sharks wave them down. Ezekiel and Alejandro look at each other before Scott lets out a scream)

**You guys are on my mind.**

(The camera jumps down into water, where Harold is swimming. Nearby, a boat race is happening between Courtney, Jo, and Heather. Courtney's boat runs over Harold's head as she paddles ferociously)

**You asked me what I wanted to be**

**And now I think the answer is plain to see,**

(On the beach, Gwen and Duncan lay together in a towel. They lean in to kiss, only for Duncan to fall backwards into the sand after hearing Scott's scream)

**I wanna be famous.**

(Noah and Justin are push-fighting outside the confessional as Leshawna walks out of it and shoves Noah to the ground. Justin starts laughing at him until Leshawna steps on his foot)

**I wanna live close to the sun,**

**Go pack your bags, 'cause I've already won,**

(Zoey can be seen in the mess hall holding Mike's hands and leaning in. Mike suddenly clutches his head and runs out the door)

**Everything to prove, nothing in my way**

**I'll get there one day.**

(The camera pans to outside of the mess hall, where Mike trips over the steps and falls on top of Lightning, who was on his morning run outside. They both groan in pain)

**Cause, I wanna be famous!**

(The camera pans to the front of the cabins. Brick and Lindsay are sitting next to each other on the steps, where she is seen talking to him about fashion. She sees Trent walking by and tries to fix her hair, only to topple off of the steps)

**Na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na!**

(The camera pans back over to the campfire at night, where all of the campers sit in the middle on the log-seats except for Cody, who is leaning against Chris's podium and trying to flirt with Eva, who has her arms crossed. Chris comes over and shoves Cody off of the podium as Chef tells him a joke and he laughs maniacally)

**I wanna be, I wanna be, I wanna be famous**

**I wanna be, I wanna be, I wanna be famous**

(The camera slowly fades out as it leaves the campfire and slowly shifts to the indigo sky scattered with bright white stars. All of the campers whistle as the intro ends)

* * *

(The Screaming Bears Cabin: Boys Side)

Lightning opened his eyes, rubbing them a bit before quickly taking out his signature jar of protein powder. He glanced around the cabin room for a moment. Yep, no one was up, as usual.

He scoffed as he quickly scooped some protein powder into a glass cup. They were all lazy. He had never woken up as late as they did. Pops would never have allowed it.

He quickly dropped down from his bunk, making a loud squeaking noise as the floorboard creaked underneath the impact. The athlete grabbed his day clothes from his bag and jogged out of the cabin for his early morning workout routine.

As the door clamped shut, Noah opened one of his eyes up, lazily observing that Lightning's bunk was open. He sighed.

Lightning was quite the problem. He was insufferable, egotistical, and he was everything that Noah wasn't in terms of interests. Lightning was always energized, enthusiastic, and doing some sort of physical activity. Noah was lazy, intelligent, and quite pessimistic.

Regardless of that, the brainiac knew that he needed more allies on his team. He knew that he had Harold now, but Harold's loyalties were clearly divided between him and Justin. And Harold couldn't be counted on to go against Courtney, who Harold still wanted to make amends with. It was quite bothersome, really.

Which brought him to the current moment. He had to take some initiative. Honestly, what was the world coming to?

The bookworm blinked a couple of times, feeling very much like a log as he slowly sat up and crept out of his bunk. He grabbed his clothes and hurried quietly after Lightning.

* * *

**CONFESSIONAL:**

**Noah:** He rubbed his head a bit tiredly and bags could be seen under his eyes as he crossed his arms, "Alright, so I need to make nice with Lightning. And possibly Zoey. I can't let Justin and Courtney dominate this team if I hope to get anywhere close to winning."

He scowled, "It's a very bad situation. Harold likes both Justin and Courtney. Lindsay is going along with them mindlessly. And so I've got to waste my sleeping hours to," he cringed a bit, "run."

* * *

(The Campgrounds)

Lindsay snuck around quietly, trying not to make any loud noise as she hid behind the mess hall, her baby blue eyes looking around quickly before sneaking over and ineffectively hiding behind the camp flagpole.

She quickly rushed over to the bathroom and shower trailer that the Killer Sharks had won in the first challenge. Desire swam in her eyes as she stared at it.

"I know that I'm not technically supposed to use you, but I neeeeed you. I haven't had a good place to fix myself up in almost a week now!" She hugged the trailer for a moment before tip-toeing to its door, not noticing that the lights were already on inside.

The clueless girl opened the door quickly, a bright smile on her face as she got ready to see the beautiful inside of the trailer. Leshawna had told her all about it!

Her enthusiasm peaked before quickly crashing into the ground at the sight that awaited her inside.

Ezekiel sat on the toilet in the corner of the trailer, frozen as his eyes widened in horror at seeing Lindsay. His left index finger was up his nose, digging for gold.

They both stared at each other for a few moments, both frozen with horrified expressions at the situation.

Ezekiel stood up slowly, taking his finger out of his nose and putting both hands up in a defensive position

"Now, Lindsay—"

Lindsay seemed to break out of her stupor, her face scrunching up in disgust as she screamed and quickly bolted outside of the trailer's doorframe, her hands flailing wildly in the air. Ezekiel tried to take off after her, only to trip over the steps outside of the trailer, laying on the ground as he hopelessly watched Lindsay disappear into the distance.

He pathetically sighed and tried to raise his voice in the hopes that she would hear it, "Lindsay homes! Please do'on't be tellin' anyone else abo'out this!"

* * *

**CONFESSIONAL:**

**Ezekiel:** He scratched his head wearily as he looked at the camera, "So'o...I still pick my nose sometimes. I kno'ow it's a gro'oss habit, eh. I just can't help it though! That's why The Zeke did it in private."

He put both of his hands in his hair with a panicked expression, "I've gotta go'o find Lindsay. If anyone finds out, The Zeke'll be back t'a square one on making friends!"

The prairie boy got up and rushed out of the confessional cam, toilet paper attached to the bottom of his left foot.

* * *

(The Screaming Bears Cabin: Girls Side)

Courtney yawned and sat up in her bed, rubbing her eyes.

"What's with the banshee screaming?" The CIT sounded extremely annoyed. She was not a morning person.

The door to the cabin was thrown open and then promptly slammed shut. The CIT looked alarmed as her eyes darted toward the door to see Lindsay standing there, looking horrified about something.

By this time, Zoey had also woken up, and she and Courtney shared a quick glance before the indie chick stood up and walked cautiously over to Lindsay.

Zoey rubbed Lindsay's shoulders as she looked at her, "Hey, what's wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost." She looked worried about the blonde.

Lindsay breathed in heavily before looking at Zoey with a shaken look in her eyes.

"I did just see a ghost...A nose-picking ghost." Lindsay's nose crinkled in serious disgust as Zoey's eyebrows shot up and Courtney's expression became annoyed.

Courtney sighed and got up off of her bed, her arms crossed, "So you woke us up this early for that? Because you saw someone picking their nose?"

Lindsay nodded frantically, not catching the air of annoyance around the CIT, "Yes, it was like so totally gross. I wanted to see what the bathroom trailer was like and Ezekiel was in there with his finger up his nose!" She threw her hands up in the air for emphasis.

Courtney's lips curled in disgust and also amusement, "Well, at least he's doing it in private now, instead of wiping it off on his pants in public. It's odd how being an animal taught him manners."

Zoey looked uncomfortable at the subject, "Shouldn't we be comforting Lindsay? She looks a bit shaken up."

Courtney's eyes softened as they focused on Lindsay. The CIT huffed a bit and walked over to the other two girls, placing a hand on Lindsay's shoulder and leading her to the bunk beds.

Courtney dug into Lindsay's bag for a moment as Zoey watched her in confusion. The CIT resurfaced with two fashion catalogues in her hands, waving them in front of Lindsay with a fake smile.

"Alright Lindsay, do you want to talk about the latest fashions in Europe? I promise I'll listen."

Lindsay's eyes lit up as she grabbed one of them and began flipping through it. She pointed to one specific page as Courtney and Zoey sat on her left.

"You see that one? It's like totally big in France right now! If I win this year, I'm like so totally going back to Paris. And I won't get arrested this time! It'll be magical!" Lindsay squealed a bit and moved her wrists excitedly as Zoey eyed it with a bit of disinterest. She was more into retro designs, after all. Courtney looked annoyed but her lips were twitching upward a bit at the edges.

As Lindsay began rambling on about fashion, Zoey looked at Courtney and whispered to her, "Good job calming Lindsay down. I didn't know you cared so much."

Courtney's eyebrows slanted down, "Of course I care. I just have bigger things to worry about than Ezekiel's habit of digging for gold in his nose. Like winning, for example."

Zoey smiled at the CIT and patted her hand reassuredly, "Just remember that you can have fun while trying to win. I mean, my friend Cameron won last year that way."

Courtney looked a bit stung by the statement, which made Zoey raise an eyebrow.

"I already tried having fun in this place, and that's a mistake I won't make again," Courtney's voice sounded solemn and hurt. Zoey was about to respond when Lindsay closed the catalogue and smiled brightly at both of the girls. Courtney and Zoey immediately looked at her to see what she wanted.

"Thanks for listening, guys! Now that Brick is gone, I don't really have anyone to talk fashion with."

Courtney smiled falsely, "No problem, Lindsay. Anything to cheer you up."

Lindsay's eyes focused on Zoey in interest as she turned her body toward the indie chick, "You've gotta tell me about you and Mike now! How have you been handling being on different teams? Have you kissed yet? Have you gone on a date yet?"

Zoey chuckled a bit as she was bombarded with the questions, "I'd be happy to talk about it. Mike and I haven't had much time together so far, but we get to eat breakfast together now, which is a plus. And yes, we have had our first kiss and our first date. I visited him maybe one week after last season was over. How are you and Tyler doing?"

As Lindsay began telling Zoey about her breakup with Tyler, Courtney sat there on the sidelines, looking a bit miffed.

* * *

**CONFESSIONAL:**

**Courtney:** "I appreciate what Zoey thinks, but making friends has never helped me on this show much before. Maybe when Harold and Gwen are gone, I'll think about it."

The CIT massaged her temples, "Lindsay is pretty nice. I know that SHE could never betray me, at least. And she's really easy to talk to. Zoey, on the other hand, is too prying. I mean, we just met. I don't just spill my life story to anyone passing by."

 **Zoey:** "Yeah, Courtney is pretty rough around the edges, but I knew that she had to have something nice buried in there."

She looked thoughtful about this, "I wonder what she would be like if Harold and Gwen really were gone? Maybe she would like me more?"

 **Lindsay:** The blonde had a beaming smile, "Courtney and Zoey are so nice! I'm sooo glad that we're all getting along so well!"

* * *

(The Infirmary)

Heather opened her eyes, feeling a bit dazed. She rubbed her head and looked around at her surroundings.

Hmmmm, it looked just like the infirmary back at camp.

"How did I end up here?"

She really tried to think back to the day before. She had woken up on a rickety raft, been told about the challenge by Chris, and then forced to jet ski by her idiotic team. And then—-

"That dirt sniffer pushed me into the minefield! Oh, he's going to pay for messing with me! I'm the best player this game has!"

The tent flipped open and Chef Hatchet walked in, grumbling as he looked at her, "Really? Best player? I seem to remember you losing twice, mean girl."

Heather scowled as she sat up on her uncomfortable bed, "What would you know about winning? You're just a cook on this awful show. I don't think you're making the big bucks."

Chef walked over to his desk and grabbed a bottle of water. He walked over to Heather with his hand held out.

"Good. Finally some good service around here," Heather smiled and reached towards the water bottle before Chef began pouring it all over her.

"Ahhhh! What the heck are you doing?"

Chef grunted at her, the water bottle now empty, before walking away from her with a cocky expression, "You know, I preferred you when you were sleeping. You remind me of those shellshock guys I treated during the war, but even they complained less than you."

Heather scowled as the cook continued.

"You have visitors outside. Mess with my stuff while I'm gone and we'll have a problem. Especially my special drawer over there," Chef pointed to the bottom drawer of a dresser near his little medical desk. Pony stickers and glitter covered it all over the place in random patterns. Heather glanced at it in morbid curiosity. What the heck was in there?

The burly man then walked outside of the infirmary tent, muttering about teenagers.

Heather looked impatiently at the tent flap, figuring that her visitor was just Cody.

She was proven right when she saw Cody walk into the infirmary, smiling at her with a hint of something she couldn't identify on his face. Anxiety? Worry?

Oh my god, was there something wrong with her face? She had endured so many disgusted looks and jokes when she was bald; she didn't think she could take it if she was disfigured or something.

She began panicking as her hands ran all across her face before she saw what Cody had been nervous of. Two other boys walked into the infirmary behind him, and neither of them were particularly friendly with her.

Trent was one of them. Heather didn't have much of a problem with the musician. In fact, she thought he was pretty handsome and she had been attracted to him back in the first season. Of course, he was too naïve and too nice for her. And his obsession with the number nine sure made her glad that Gwen got him instead. Heather didn't think fate was very kind to her, but she had at least dodged that bullet.

...

...

...

...

Then there was him, standing there as bold as brass and with a glint in his eyes. God, he infuriated her.

And that's part of what scared her so much about him. He was like her, or at least he had been. She didn't really buy the new "nice guy" act of his; she had never trusted him before and she sure as heck wouldn't start now.

Heather had never really met a guy like him before. And she cursed her luck that she had to meet him during the contest. After all, even if she did feel something, which she so totally didn't, she could never give the money up for some guy.

She couldn't, and that's what had ruined things.

Her eyes reluctantly scanned the burned scars all over his bare arms and around his neck. They almost seemed to glow as she examined them. They were brought on by her, after all.

Cody cleared his throat, breaking her train-of-thought. She realized that she had spaced out and quickly slipped a scowl onto her face as she crossed her arms at her visitors.

"Really Cody? You brought these two with you? You know I have no interest in seeing either of them."

Cody winced and shot apologetic glances at the other two as he walked toward Heather, "Yeah, I know. They were just a bit worried about how you felt, like I was. Speaking of which, how do you feel?"

Heather's lips pursed in an annoyed fashion before she answered, keeping her eyes on Cody.

"Chef is as psycho and as unhelpful as ever. But I do feel fine, unlike how that farm boy is going to feel when I get my hands on him." Heather squeezed her hands angrily at the thought of how Scott had pushed her into the floating mines the day before.

Cody chuckled a bit, as did Trent.

"Just make sure you don't beat Scott too badly; we still need him for challenges," Trent joked with the queen bee, trying to be nice. He wasn't a believer in holding grudges, after all.

Alejandro watched all of this silently, his green eyes scanning Heather.

"I would hate to interrupt, amigos, but Chef did tell us to head toward the mess hall as soon as possible. The challenge will start soon."

Cody scratched his head as he looked at Heather, "Yeah, Alejandro is right. We've got to head out. Wanna come with, Heather?"

Heather looked to Trent, who nodded at her in approval. Then, her eyes landed on Alejandro. The Latino's face was neutral and his eyes were just studying her. She could almost see the phantom smirk on his face.

Her cheeks reddened a bit, both in exasperation and in anger as she defiantly gave her answer, "No. I'd like to go with you, but I need to fix myself up before the challenge. Can't be letting the people back home see me like this."

Cody, Trent, and Alejandro all left quietly from the infirmary as Heather sighed and began getting off of her uncomfortable medical bed. She began heading over to her cabin to get some of her things as she thought about what had just transpired.

* * *

**CONFESSIONAL:**

**Heather:** "Hmmph, my only visitors were from the other team. Just goes to show how ungrateful my team is. I mean, I literally took on a minefield for those slackers!"

She took some deep breaths to regain her composure as she looked coldly at the camera, "I appreciated Cody coming by. He's one of the only people here i can actually tolerate. Still, he should've known better than to bring those other two with him. I was hardly in the mood to be seeing Trent and that _other person_ he brought." She scowled and rolled her eyes.

* * *

(Out in the Forest)

Lightning jogged along his usual jogging path past Mount Looming Tragedy, humming his own superhero theme music as he went.

"Da da da da da da da da Lightning!"

His ears perked up as he heard someone running up behind him. He turned around and came to a stop as he saw Noah struggling to run behind him. Lightning raised an eyebrow as the egghead caught up to him, slouching forward heavily and panting as if he was going to die.

"Please *GASP* slow *GASP* down."

"What are you doing out here, smart guy? Lightning didn't know you even had muscles."

Noah caught his breath with his arms braced against his stick-thin knees. He then stood up straight and put a neutral expression on as he brushed his sweater vest off nonchalantly, "Oh, just going on my usual morning run. I can't get going without one."

Yeah, so maybe he was lying. What of it? Being truthful had never helped him win this game before.

He continued, "I saw you out here and decided I wanted some small talk with one of my best teammates. You know, bonding time."

Noah watched as Lightning's eyes lit up. He felt an inner smirk creep up before the athlete suddenly clapped him on the back enthusiastically and began running away, "Come jog with Lightning, smart guy! Lightning will tell you all about his football maneuvers back home! Lightning loves talking about himself!"

"Really? Who could ever tell," Noah mumbled under his breath.

Noah sighed a bit regretfully as he began jogging after the boy, his legs feeling like pieces of lead. Yeah, he was admittedly pretty desperate.

"Great. Football is my faaaaavorite sport."

* * *

**CONFESSIONAL:**

**Noah:** He gave a one-sided frown to the camera as he crossed his legs, "Alright, so we all have to sacrifice some things. It just so happens that I have to sacrifice my dignity and my preferences. It's no big deal really, if it helps me win."

He then looked at the camera with his signature deadpan look, "Lightning was surprisingly nice, though he has an ego the size of Jupiter. Hopefully, I can count on him. I've just gotta keep playing worshipper."

* * *

(Somewhere Else in the Forest)

Scott foraged around at the top of a tree, making sure to check each branch thoroughly.

"C'mon, that invincibility idol has to be here somewhere. If I can't find it soon, I'm toast."

He needed that idol as soon as possible. It was only a matter of time before his team lost and voted him off for being "too mean".

He scoffed at the thought. Honestly, people took things too personally. All he did was manipulate, cheat, and sometimes harass other people on international television. As if thousands of people hadn't done it before!

His thoughts abruptly stopped as his hand actually felt something hidden in one of the branch's leaves. He felt around blindly for some hint to what it was, only to feel slight curvatures and meticulous carved on the small object.

He smirked. He had found it.

He grabbed the object with his left hand and pulled it out of the branch. However, he found that his hand had been tangled in some of the small twigs and vines on the branch. He aggressively pulled his hand backwards, only to find himself toppling off of the tree.

"Whyyyyy me?!" Scott screamed as he hit the ground in a loud thud. Dust scattered around him as he rubbed his head, opening his gray eyes to see a wooden bust of Chris McLean's face in his hand.

"Yes! The Scottmeister is invincible now!" He pumped his fists in victory as he sat up from his position on the ground.

"Hey Scott."

Scott jumped immediately, skittering off of the ground into an upright position and quickly taking a defensive pose similar to Harold's karate pose.

That's when he saw Ezekiel standing beside the tree that he had fallen out of minutes earlier, an eyebrow cocked and a clueless expression on his face.

Scott quickly molded his face into a relaxed expression as he leaned up against one of the trees next to him in a nonchalant manner, "Hey there Zeke. What are you doing all the way out here?"

Ezekiel's mouth frowned at the edges as he scratched his toque, "The Zeke came out here looking for Lindsay, eh. She..."

Ezekiel cringed a bit in the middle of his sentence. He couldn't let Scott know that he picked his nose! Scott was one of his few friends here.

"I, er uh, needed t'a talk t'a her abo'out something."

The prairie boy's eyes fell onto Scott's hands, which were now hidden behind his back suspiciously, "What did ya have there before? Looked like a wooden carving 'a Chris, eh."

Scott felt sweat running down his cheek as his eyes darted to the side. He obviously couldn't hide it now.

That was when he got an idea.

Scott grinned widely as he dramatically pulled the invincibility statue out from behind his back and proudly displayed it to Ezekiel.

"This is the McLean invincibility statue, Zeke. Having it means that I can stay in the game even if I get voted off."

Ezekiel stared in awe as he crept up and studied the statue. He touched it hesitantly and quickly with one of his index fingers before looking at Scott.

"That's so'o cool, eh! I'm honored ya would sho'ow this t'a The Zeke!"

Scott smirked at the naive boy, "I'm familiar with the reaction."

Suddenly, a bored voice sounded from nearby, in the direction of the main path in the forest.

"You do know that the statue is a dud, right?"

Both of the boys craned their heads to see Noah walking toward them from the side, Lightning walking with him at a leisurely pace. Scott dropped the statue into his pocket swiftly and tried to act nonchalant.

Noah looked unimpressed as he got closer to them, "Do you think that I'm going to forget that I saw it just because you put it away? I'm not a toddler."

"What did you have there? It looked like it just sha-disappeared!"

Noah rolled his eyes exasperatedly before looking at Lightning, "The dirt farmer there found a fake invincibility idol."

Lightning grunted angrily and turned his eyes to Scott, "Lightning can't believe that you found the idol again! All you ever do is throw challenges!"

Scott smirked and closed his eyes, "I didn't see you looking for it, muscle-head. And of course I deserve it; I'm the one who makes things interesting around here."

Ezekiel watched this scene quietly, his eyes glued to Lightning now. He recognized him much too well.

Lightning clenched his fists threateningly at Scott, "If by interesting, you mean sha-being a mouse."

Scott scoffed at Lightning, not even turning to face him, "A mouse? Did you mean to call me a rat, genius?"

Lightning narrowed his eyes, "Yeah, you and I were both toxic rats."

Scott rolled his eyes. Honestly, messing with Lightning wasn't even fun. It was sort of like listening to somebody else's problems: Fun at first, but increasingly sad and pathetic.

"That's not what I meant, you idiot. I meant—"

Noah decided to intervene here; he had already had his maximum dosage of stupidity for the day, "I would hate to interrupt here, being how excited I am to hear Scott's next amazing insult. But that doesn't matter, because, as I said before, that invincibility idol is a fake."

Scott's eyes went wide, as did Lightning's.

"That makes no sha-sense, smart guy! Why would Chris hide a bunch of fake idols around?"

Ezekiel finally spoke up, looking at Noah with a confused look, "How are ya so'o sure, No'oah? It looked pretty authentic t'a The Zeke."

Noah rolled his eyes and motioned for Scott to bring the idol out. The farm boy did so because he was curious about what the bookworm meant.

Noah walked over to Scott and pointed directly at the hair, "You see this, Homeschool? I might understand these newbies not recognizing Chris's hairstyle perfectly, but you should."

Ezekiel walked over cautiously, his eyes glued at Lightning as the meathead looked at him confusedly.

The prairie boy gazed at the back of the idol, looking at it closely for a moment. Then, a smile lit up his face.

"You're right, homes! Chris doesn't has a mullet, eh! Word!"

Scott panicked and looked at the idol frantically. Lightning began laughing at the farm boy as they both realized that Ezekiel and Noah were right.

"Would you look at that?! Karma came back to sha-bite you on the ass!"

Scott looked miserable as Noah gave him a smirk and Ezekiel gave him a sympathetic look.

* * *

**CONFESSIONAL:**

**Ezekiel:** He looked a bit uncomfortable, "Yeah, The Zeke remembers Lightning. A bit too well, actually."

He shivered as the memories came back to him. Then, he stood up straight and put a smile on, "Scott is a homie though. He won't need no'o immunity statue with The Zeke around t'a watch his back!"

 **Scott:** He looked determinedly at the camera, "Chris must've hid fake idols to throw me off of the trail of the real one! But I will find it if it takes me every morning of every day! No piece of wood will beat me!"

 **Chris:** The host smiled with a mischievous look on his face, "Hmmm, I didn't hide any fake idols around the island. But hey, whatever it takes to keep Scott looking for this fabled 'real idol'."

The host then gave a disappointed look to the camera and shook his head, 'Whoever got eliminated by Scott last year had really ought to be ashamed. That guy is a moron!"

 **Chef:** The cook is whittling a piece of wood into a Chris McLean head as he sits in the confessional comfortably. He looked up at the camera and whistled, "This will teach farm boy for making me stay in the infirmary all night. I hardly had any time to write my Hallmark greeting card of the month!"

 **Noah:** He scowled and slapped his forehead, "I'm surrounded by idiots, honestly."

* * *

(The Mess Hall)

"Hey Alejandro, I was thinking we could talk really quick."

Alejandro barely turned his head, examining Cody with his right eye as he dumped his tray into the mess hall's garbage can. It was clear to him that the shorter boy had waited until he was alone. After all, being dumped in lava hadn't damaged his strategic mind.

"What is it that you wanted to talk about, amigo?"

Cody twiddled his thumbs with an anxious look on his face, "So, I said that I was going to visit Heather last night...and I noticed that you went there too."

Alejandro's eyes widened and he turned around fully to face the other boy, his face a bit shocked, "You were still there? But I made sure that I was alone!"

Cody chuckled, "I was underneath the bed. Turns out that being short is good for some things."

Alejandro gulped, trying to process all of this information, "So...you heard everything then?"

Cody looked down, "Yeah, I heard everything. And I just wanted to apologize to you...I thought you were faking being reformed this whole time. Now I know that you're for real."

Alejandro gave a small smile and placed a hand on Cody's shoulder. Cody met his eyes.

"It's okay, amigo. I can understand the impulse to be skeptical. Especially of someone who hurt so many."

Cody gave a gap-toothed grip in return and shook Alejandro's hand out of respect, "I also wanted to tell you, as Heather's friend, that I wanted to help you out with...you know...making up."

Alejandro's emerald eyes had a glint in them, "You really mean that? You would help me?"

"Of course! Heather's been so miserable lately...She doesn't have anyone to talk to on the island except for me, and I kinda...had other things that I wanted to take care of. Leave it to the Codemeister!" Cody made a thumbs up with his left hand, pointing at his chest proudly. Alejandro slapped him on the back with a smile and both boys walked back to their table.

Over at the opposite table, a less pleasant conversation was happening.

"I can't believe that none of you even came to see me?! I took a minefield for you people! Where is my respect?"

Courtney gulped down a mouthful of the gray slop in front of her, a gritty look on her face as she responded nonchalantly, "Now Heather, I'm not saying that I wanted you to get hurt, because I didn't, but I didn't really care much after Chris said that you would be fine. I mean, you lost your part of the challenge anyway."

Heather huffed angrily before Justin also spoke up, his eyes on his slop, "Yeah Heather, maybe you should stop complaining. I mean, I wouldn't have gotten kicked in the crotch if you had just beaten Scott out there," Justin caressed his chest protectively.

"You have no idea how bad sprinting is for me. It bends my legs too much if done too frequently. I mean, I can't wrinkle so young!"

Heather growled and slapped the back of the male model's head angrily, "That wasn't my fault! I wasn't the one that kicked you, but I sure wish that I had!"

Justin rubbed his head and blinked, "Yeah, you're technically right. Courtney was the one who hit me. But I also just don't like you, Heather."

Courtney scowled from across the table, "I said I wouldn't do it again. Stop whining so much; it's very unattractive."

Justin's eyes widened as he shot up out of his seat and pointed at Courtney, "Don't ever call me unattractive again! That's even worse than hitting me!"

Courtney rolled her eyes before nodding at the male model. Justin smiled and sat back down. When he wasn't looking, she muttered "Drama queen" under her breath.

Heather turned her eyes to Lindsay, the only other person sitting near her.

"Lindsay! Surely you must appreciate what I went through."

Lindsay flinched and her slop fell off of her spoon and back onto her tray. She smiled weakly and looked at Heather, who looked expectant.

"I'm sorry Heather, but I made a vow that I wouldn't get involved with you again, like ever. I hope you feel okay though." With that said, Lindsay scooted closer to Courtney and focused on her food once again.

Heather looked awestruck.

* * *

**CONFESSIONAL:**

**Heather:** She had a very worried look on her face, "Alright, so maybe I do have something to be worried about. Even Lindsay doesn't have any sympathy for me anymore."

She pursed her lips and rubbed her chin in thought, "Maybe it's time I get involved in this intra-team war. Justin and Courtney obviously aren't getting along...Hmmmm."

* * *

"Hey, guys, did anyone notice this note over here?" Harold stood next to the mess hall door, pointing at a small yellow sticky note hanging there.

Justin looked over at him before Courtney waved a dismissive hand in Harold's direction. The male model shrugged sympathetically at Harold and went back to his food without saying anything.

"Uhhh guys? Anyone hear me?"

Cricket sounds could be heard near Harold as everyone in the room either kept talking to each other or focused on their food.

Suddenly, the door slammed open, smashing Harold into the wall. Everyone suddenly craned their heads toward the door as Lightning and Noah walked into the building, Ezekiel and a depressed Scott right behind them.

Noah quickly glanced behind the door and saw Harold smashed against the wall. He sighed as the door slammed closed behind Scott and grabbed one of Harold's arms, helping him up.

"Homeschool, help me support the temporary cripple here."

Ezekiel frowned and crossed his arms, "No'o way homes. Harold is always mean t'a The Zeke."

Harold groaned and pushed himself off of Noah, pushing his glasses up on his nose, "Gosh! Now that everyone is finally paying attention, can we all see what the note on the door says?"

The other campers gathered around the door, dumping their trays of slop in the garbage can as they walked over. Once everyone was there, Gwen put her hands on her hips and cocked an eyebrow, "Alright. Who's going to read it?"

Lightning moved to grab the note, "Lightning will! Lightning is the best reader back home."

Justin, who was also at the front of the crowd, slapped the athlete's hand away, "Ahem. I'll read it. Need to exercise the eyes for my eye-modeling contracts."

Ezekiel scratched his head, "Is that a real thing, eh?"

Noah rolled his eyes, "Unfortunately, it probably is."

Justin scoffed, "Of course it's real. Poor Ezekiel, you have so much to learn about the real world still."

Justin took the note that was hanging on the inside of the mess hall main doors and began reading it as his fellow campers waited in anticipation.

"Hey campers. Report to the eastern edge of the island on the beach for today's totally tubular challenge! Swag money. Swag money. Thumbs up. One hundred."

Courtney groaned, "And I thought that those things sounded stupid when people my age used them."

Cody looked offended, "Hey now, they aren't stupid! It's a new way of communicating, is all."

"A new way of communicating for dumbasses maybe."

Heather looked irritated, "Ugghhh, who taught Chris how to use emojis?"

Harold grimaced, "Gosh, it's like my grandpa trying to use teen-speak. I much prefer sanskrit and hieroglyphics myself. Not only are they culturally historical, but aliens likely used them when they were on Earth."

"Harold, I've already told you several times: stop watching the History Channel. It's all just conspiracies."

"How do you explain the pyramids then, huh Trent?!"

Justin pursed his lips as he opened the door, "Well, as fascinating as this is, and believe me, I'm fascinated, we better get going. Beauty first!" With that, he walked out of the mess hall first, leaving the rest of the campers to roll their eyes at his antics and follow the male model.

* * *

**CONFESSIONAL:**

**Courtney:** She groaned as she held her face in her hands, "Justin is lucky that I need him for now. That's all I'll say."

 **Cody:** He looked desperately at the camera, "Emojis are cool, right? The Codemeister can't be doing everything wrong!"

 **Harold:** The nerd crossed his arms and flared his nostrils, "Trent's a cool guy, but GOSH! He subscribes to what most scientists and historians would tell you. Who trusts those guys? I'd rather trust the word of the ancient people. I mean, they did those wicked cool drawings of animal-people. And they appreciated people of many skills, like yours truly." Harold took a bow with closed eyes.

* * *

(The Eastern Beach)

Chris grinned at the approaching campers from his fold-out beach chair, wearing sunglasses as he shot finger guns at them.

"Well if it isn't my favorite batch of people! Excited for the challenge, ya scalawags?"

Many of them groaned at his statement.

"We're doing pirate stuff, aren't we?"

Chris smiled widely, "How perceptive of you, Mike. Why all of the long faces? I thought you all would love this theme!"

Gwen put her hands on her hips, "Where's the fake parrot? Couldn't you at least include the best part from last time?"

Heather smirked at the memory, "Does this mean that one of us will be getting an immunity pass again?"

"Oh hell no! Queenie over there had better not be getting free plot armor like last time!" Leshawna had her hands on her hips with eyes narrowed at Chris.

Ezekiel looked really confused. He leaned over to whisper to Trent, who was right next to him, "Hey, what's plot armor, eh?"

"Plot armor is basically when someone avoids bad things happening to them because they're interesting or important or lucky."

Ezekiel put his hands in his pockets and muttered bitterly, "Jeez, The Zeke wishes he could have some 'a that."

Trent sighed and put a hand on his teammate's shoulder, "We all do, Zeke. We all do. That's what the number nine is for."

Chris rolled his eyes and stood up from his chair, putting both hands behind his back authoritatively, "No, we won't be gifting immunity like that. This season is all about brutality! You've gotta fight to stay."

He grinned evilly, "And I thought, what better fits Total Drama than a bunch of backstabbing, eccentric, greedy teenagers picking fights over absolutely nothing?"

Harold shrugged and the others looked at him, "He's got a point."

Chris chuckled a bit as he popped up next to the nerd, pushing his glasses up further on his nose, "Thank you Harold. I always try so hard to earn your personal approval."

Harold crossed his arms and muttered a quick "Gosh" under his breath as Chris continued.

"Now, Chef will bring your vessels shortly. Each team will man one of the ships and try to sink the enemy in classic war fashion! Only the strongest will survive! We outfitted classic cannons and cannon balls onboard. As long as none of you get trigger-happy, nobody should be hurt."

Chris pointedly glared at Scott, who stepped back and put his hands up, "Hey now, that was kind of an accident."

"Now, who is the captain of each team?! I'm talking the toughest and most resilient member from each team!"

Several people in the crowd opened their mouths, including Heather and Courtney. That is, before Chris interrupted them all with an outstretched hand and a laugh.

"Just kidding! I already know the answers! Which is why I generously decided to pick the best member of each team for you."

The Killer Sharks looked somewhat expectantly at Alejandro as most of the Screaming Bears sported smug grins, believing it to be them.

"I mean, of course, Cody and Lightning!"

The Killer Sharks looked shocked, as did Cody. That is, until the news sunk in and he grew a proud look on his face.

"Ah yeah, the Codemeister will be the best captain ever!"

Some people rolled their eyes, but this was nothing compared to what would come next.

"Yesss! Lightning is always team captain back home! He'll lead this team to VICTORY!" Lightning mimed throwing a football onto the ground and threw his fist into the air, cheering for himself.

If the Killer Sharks looked displeased by their captain, the Screaming Bears looked incredibly annoyed.

"Chris, why did you pick Lightning? He has no brain!" Heather motioned to the athlete, who was doing a victory dance.

"I agree Chris. It should be me as the captain. After all, I'm the only one here who is a real—"

"A real nagging pain. I don't see why you would bother complaining when you know that Chris won't change his mind no matter what you say." Noah looked particularly bored of the declarations of leadership.

Chris shot a thumbs up at the bookworm, "How right you are, Noah! I'm glad to see someone here who is above complaining."

Alejandro cut in, "Excuse me Chris, but our team didn't complain about our captain."

Eva grunted, "But we were certainly thinking about it."

Chris ignored them, "Here comes Chef with your vessels now!"

A loud skidding noise was heard as two giant wooden ships pulled up near the shore, looking sturdy but very badly cared for. They looked practically identical in all respects, except that they had different insignias on their sails. While one spotted the red logo of the Killer Sharks, the other was embroidered with the green logo of the Screaming Bears. Chef Hatchet, now dressed in a pirate outfit that looked similar to that of Captain Jack Sparrow, grinned sinisterly down at the campers.

Justin squinted his eyes and looked around, "Where are the oil tankers?"

Chris didn't look amused at the joke, "Those people aren't REAL pirates. Have you ever seen a Somali pirate swashbuckle onto an oil tanker?"

There was a bout of silence that followed for an awkward period of time.

"That's what I thought. Now go ahead and man your stations, campers! You owe the viewers a good performance after whatever the heck that abomination was yesterday!"

"Come on Team Lightning! Let's sha-crush this challenge!" Lightning leapt into the water and began swimming toward the wooden ladder on the left side of his team's boat.

His team just watched him as he enthusiastically swam and leapt onto the boat's wooden ladder. They then turned their eyes to the rope ladder that Chef had slung over the edge of the boat nearest to them.

"Gosh, he's not that smart, but you have to admire the enthusiasm." Harold motioned for the girls to take the rope ladder first.

"He seems like a great pick for captain to me," Lindsay climbed up the ladder first.

"That's just classic Lightning for you. He'll be fine until we hit the merge," Zoey climbed up after her with a slight laugh.

Courtney gave Harold a death glare as she took the bottom of the rope ladder from him and began climbing.

Noah sighed, "Just be ready to mutiny against the captain if he tries to christen the boat 'The Lightning'." The bookworm began climbing the ladder, followed by Justin.

"I, for one, am glad to serve underneath such a dynamic leader."

Noah cocked an eyebrow at this as the boys came up on the edge of the boat.

* * *

**CONFESSIONAL:**

**Justin:** He looked straight at the camera with a disinterested look, "Yeah, Lightning is a complete moron. Huge ego too. I could maybe understand if he looked as good as me," Justin caressed his face and smiled proudly, "but he doesn't. Unfortunately he has a vote despite all of that."

The male model examined his nails, "I know that Noah is trying to buddy up with him, but I can't let that happen. So I suppose I'm going to have to charm Lightning. Not the first time I've charmed a guy like him."

His eyes widened as he realized what that implied, "Wait! I didn't mean it like that!"

 **Noah:** The bookworm looked worried, "Justin is trying to pull the same trick as me, I just know it. And he's more like Lightning than I could ever be."

He sighed exasperatedly, "I guess I'm going to have to connect with Lightning more than I planned. He probably wouldn't betray someone he considers a 'sha-friend'." The last part was made in unenthusiastic finger-quotes.

* * *

(The Killer Sharks' Ship)

Chris stood in front of the Killer Sharks on their pirate ship, a box full of cheap-looking pirate hats sitting next to him.

"Alright campers, go ahead and put these cool hats on. We need to give the authentic pirate look."

Most of them began grabbing a hat, except for one person.

"But Chris, I can't wear a hat. I won't be able to actually compete in the challenge as myself." Mike definitely did not look enthused about this new rule. In fact, he looked quite nervous.

Chris narrowed his eyes a bit and squinted at Mike, who had been the person to speak up. Chris grinned at him, "Sorry Mike, I kind of forgot about your unique situation. Now if only you could find someone who cared."

"But—"

Chris held a hand up to silence him, "Listen Mike, you don't have to wear it if you don't want to."

Mike sighed in relief as a smile grew on his face.

"That is, if you want to forfeit the challenge. I payed good money for these hats! You teenagers just don't appreciate the effort I put into these props."

* * *

(Flashback to when Chris Purchased the Hats)

"Are you a member of our rewards program?"

The customer seemed to ignore the question as he grabbed his bags and left. The employee let his fake smile slip as he mumbled under his breath, "Jerk."

The line cycled, with a very familiar face approaching the counter now.

The Dollar Store employee's eyes grew to the size of dinner plates as he laid eyes on Chris McLean, the famous host of Total Drama.

Chris was holding a whole box of cheap pirate hats. The host slammed said box down onto the counter and put his hand over it, shooting the employee a finger gun and a cheesy smile.

"How much is all of this if I buy it in bulk?"

It took a few moments for the employee to regain his composure, "Uhhhhh, we don't discount for bulk, sir. They'll all be their regular price of $1."

Chris sighed but reluctantly pulled $17 out of his pocket, slamming it onto the counter, "I knew I should've gone to Costco."

* * *

(Back to the Present)

Numerous people rolled their eyes, Gwen being at the forefront.

"Wow Chris, I'm sorry we were so unappreciative of these crappy pirate hats." She picked one up and used both hands to bend it nearly in half.

Chris put a hand on his chest and smiled, "Why thank you Gwen. I'm glad to see that you've mellowed out, now that the bad influence of Duncan is gone."

Gwen looked miffed. Leshawna put a hand on her shoulder and glared at Chris, who looked quite smug, "BURRRRNNN!"

Alejandro patted Mike on the back, holding the last hat in his left hand, "It'll be fine, amigo. It's just for one challenge, after all. I'm sure no one will blame you for what your personality does."

Mike shot a strange look at the Latino before giving him a small smile and grabbing the pirate hat, "Thanks Alejandro. You're a lot nicer than you looked on TV."

Alejandro shot a smile at the spiky-haired boy as Mike laid the hat on his head, letting out a dramatic gasp as his face contorted into an increasingly cocky one.

"'Ello mates! We're playin' pirates, eh?"

Most of Mike's teammates didn't look ecstatic about this new arrival. Leshawna, however, was more focused on Alejandro than she was on Manitoba Smith.

* * *

**CONFESSIONAL:**

**Leshawna:** She had her arms crossed with a suspicious look on her face, "Alejandro is like a virus. He gains allies every single day. I can't let him keep infesting everyone with his lies! Brother is going down tonight if I have anything to do with it."

* * *

"Alright everyone, gather around. The Codemeister is going to assign you all your jobs."

Cody turned to Gwen and Trent, who stood next to each other on his left, "Gwen, Trent, we need to play the offense if we're going to win. Would you two swim over to their boat and try to sabotage?"

Gwen smiled at Cody, "Sure thing, Captain. I'm the best at home at destroying giant ships."

Trent shot a sideways glance at Gwen and then looked at Cody. Cody just winked at him.

Trent smiled, "Yeah! I'll be sure to make some noise over there!"

* * *

(Playa Des Losers)

"That son of a bitch!"

"Duncan, calm down!"

* * *

Cody smiled and turned toward the others.

"Alright then. We need some people to fire the cannons."

Ezekiel stepped forward proudly, glancing at Leshawna, "The Zeke will take care 'a it, eh! And I'll do it with my good friend Alejandro'o."

"Uh, Zeke? Alejandro and Scott already left for the bottom deck..."

Ezekiel's eyes opened as he looked around him. Sure enough, both Alejandro and Scott were gone. So was Manitoba Smith, strangely.

"Oh, uhhhhh."

Leshawna put a hand on the prairie boy's shoulder and smiled at him, "Don't worry sugar, Leshawna will help you fire."

Ezekiel looked a bit conflicted at this development for a moment before he smiled and nodded his head, "Yeah, okay."

"Cool! The Codemeister will take the wheel."

* * *

(The Screaming Bears' Ship)

Lightning was in the middle of the team huddle, all of them wearing ridiculous pirate hats and looking quite disgruntled about it.

"Alright team! Captain Lightning says that smart guy and naggy girl will be on wheel and navigation!"

Noah shrugged half heartedly as Courtney looked miffed at being placed with him.

"The model and the nerd are going to fire cannons at the other ship!"

Harold smiled at Justin. The male model looked at his band mate and smiled back, though it looked a tad sinister.

Lightning now pointed at Lindsay and Zoey, " You two! Go over there and sha-sabotage their ship! Lightning never loses!"

Zoey and Lindsay both looked a bit conflicted about this, but they nodded anyway.

Heather scowled, her hands on her hips, "And what about me, dear captain? What am I supposed to do?"

Lightning rubbed his chin for a moment, "Uhhh, you could guard the lower deck with Lightning? We've gotta make sure the other team doesn't try any funny business."

Heather pursed her lips in reluctant agreement as Lightning put his hand in the middle of the huddle, "Go Team Lightning!"

One by one, his other teammates put their hands on his. Once all hands were in the pile, Lightning pushed them upward and let out a victory shout, "Now get to it!"

Everyone shuffled to their stations, some of them grumbling about the captain.

* * *

Scott snuck quietly around the squeaking boards of the bottom deck, looking around as he crept.

This ship was really falling apart from the inside. If he could just find a way to tamper with it that didn't seem obvious, he could—

"And just what are you doing down here, amigo?"

Scott whirled around, his gray eyes catching the green orbs of Alejandro. The farm boy narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms, "I haven't done anything, DAD. I was just going to patrol down here in case the Bears had the same idea as us."

Alejandro sported a skeptical look on his face as he pointed at something behind Scott, "Then what exactly is that behind you? Perhaps it was just an accident, you'll tell me?"

Scott craned his head backwards to see a massive anchor sticking in that floor of the ship, creating a massive hole. Water was slowly leaking from the hole, though it thankfully didn't seem to be enough to sink the entire ship.

Scott gulped as he looked at it, knowing he would get the blame. He turned back around to look at Alejandro, "Uhhh, would you believe me if I said that it wasn't me?"

* * *

*CLASP*

"Oh c'mon, you can't be this much of a buzzkill. I already told you it wasn't me! Why won't you believe me?"

Alejandro turned the key, locking the door that Scott was trapped behind. The camera zoomed out to reveal that Scott was trapped in one of the ship brig's cages. The walls were lined with wooden boards and nothing was in the cramped cell except a bucket.

The Latino gave a disappointed look to Scott, shaking his head, "You should know that I want to trust you, Scott. But for that to happen, you need to prove yourself trustworthy."

Scott grasped the bars and tried his hardest to force an innocent look onto his face, "I am trustworthy! I promise! Just let me out, please."

Alejandro's eyes narrowed suspiciously, "Why do you want to be let out so badly? Surely you didn't have important plans down here?"

Scott cursed inwardly. Well, there went his plan to cause a bunch of inner damage and blame it on Manitoba Smith. Honestly, his luck was just the worst. It would be sort of unfair if he wasn't such a strategic mastermind.

"You will remain here for the rest of the challenge to think about what you have done. I will try to keep the others out of here so they don't see the damage you've caused." With that, Alejandro walked away from the wooden cell. Scott's eyes widened. The bastard was actually going to leave him here!

* * *

"So how do you want to go about this, Gwen?"

Gwen glanced at Trent and then back over to the Screaming Bears ship, which seemed to be getting more organized with every passing minute.

"We should probably just swim over and around. Crawl over the side and try to remain unnoticed. They'll probably try to distance themselves if we wait much longer."

Trent raised an eyebrow, "But won't the water smudge your makeup?"

Gwen smiled, "Yeah, but I'm not Heather. It's no big deal really. Not like I have anyone here to look good for."

Trent chuckled a bit, unsure of how he should respond to that. He settled for punching her arm playfully, "Well, let's get going then. Chris might chum the waters if we don't give him some action."

* * *

(The Eastern Beach)

Chris rubbed his right index finger on his chin thoughtfully as he looked at the monitor, "Hmmm, that's not a bad idea. How did I not think of that?!"

He snapped his fingers loudly, "Intern!"

Immediately, a teenage boy with black hair and a red shirt raced up the beach, panting as he stopped next to Chris.

Chris frowned at him, "Why didn't you get me some chum to put in the waters?"

The internet looked confused as he twiddled his thumbs, "Uhhh, because you didn't tell me to...sir?"

Chris looked at Chef, who just looked back at the host. They both began laughing as the intern sweated.

Chris managed to control his laughter after a few seconds, "You're right. Silly me. Would you get me some chum? I want to use some for the follow-up challenge."

The intern nodded and looked like he was about to take off before he had a thought, "Wait, where am I supposed to get chum?"

Chef pursed his lips and took a simple butter knife out of his pocket, tossing it to the intern. The intern caught the knife and looked at it with a confused expression.

"Just go kill some things; I don't care. My job is to tell you what to do." Chris waved his hand dismissively at the intern, who sighed heavily and walked away from the beach.

* * *

(The Screaming Bears' Ship)

"Why do you always have to be so uncooperative?! Just tell me where to go!"

"Well, I suppose I could say it's fun for me, but being around lots of the people here is never fun for long," Noah sarcastically quipped back to the CIT as he held his map of the ocean around the island in his hands, his eyes lazily studying it. Courtney stood only a few feet away from him, her hands clutching the captain's wheel as she attempted to pull closer to the enemy ship.

Courtney scowled as she looked at Noah quickly, "You'd better watch your back, bookworm. I'm really not someone you want to mess with."

"Alright, I'll watch my back. I think you should probably watch where you're going, though."

As he said this, the ship flopped upwards and was pushed a bit to the left, jarring everyone slightly as it fell back into the water. A quick look overboard would reveal a large rock in the ocean that Courtney had ran the ship into.

Lightning popped up in the door that led to the lower deck. He looked angry, "Why don't you two just make out if you're not going to navigate?!"

Courtney's eyes widened, "With him?! Never in a million years! Anyway, we wouldn't be having any problems if he would give me good directions!"

Lightning grunted and popped back through the door, heading back to the lower deck.

"Yeah, and I actually have something going for me, contrary to Courtney's taste in men."

Courtney's eyes flamed up, much to Noah's amusement. The two continued bickering.

"I would strangle you if I didn't have to keep my hands on this wheel!"

"Eh, you'd probably be doing me a favor. People tend to have more sympathy for the injured person."

Nearby, Justin watched them argue, a mixture of amusement and exasperation in his blue eyes as he carted a few heavy black cannonballs from one side of the ship's deck to the other.

Soon, he came upon Harold, who was squatting next to one of the heavy classical-style cannons on the ship's left side. Justin quickly pushed one of the cannonballs into the cannon as Harold brought out a match.

"Gosh, they just really don't mix well, huh? It reminds me a lot of oil and water."

Justin laughed a bit as Harold lit the cannon before holding his ears as said cannon loudly shot a cannonball in the direction of the enemy ship. Justin could just barely see the cannonball graze the ship's hull.

"Well, they both have pretty grating personalities. Courtney thinks she's right all the time and Noah thinks he knows everything."

Harold glanced at Justin, "Fair enough. How have you been doing? We haven't had much of a chance to talk in a bit."

Justin smiled, "Eh, this place is just like how I remember it. Ridiculous challenges and ridiculous people. I suppose it's cool we're on the same team now though, right?"

Harold grinned widely at the model as he loaded another one of the cannonballs and began trying to aim the cannon at the middle of the enemy ship, "Yeah, I'm glad that we're at least on the same team. It feels like the Drama Brothers haven't been able to hang out in such a long time."

Justin's smile fell a bit as he watched Harold begin lighting the cannon again, "Yeah I guess you're right. Maybe we could get together tonight in our cabin? We could ask Noah and our dear 'captain' to leave."

Harold looked thoughtful about the idea as he used a rag to clean the inside of the cannon to prepare it for another cannonball.

"Well...Noah and I have kind of been playing games in the afternoons..."

Justin had a sudden idea, a smirk growing on his face as he leaned in to Harold's ear, "I'm sure it'll be fine. Besides, we're buds too, right Harold? Surely you and I can hang out as well." The male model slung one of his arms around the nerd's shoulder. Harold looked back at him and smiled, holding his hand out. Justin shook it eagerly.

"Alright! We can invite Trent and Cody! I'll bring out my Yahtzee board!"

Justin waited until Harold turned away to load another cannonball to groan quietly. God, he hated Yahtzee. He always sucked at that game. It had resulted in him having to take quite a few embarrassing dares on Drama Brothers' tours.

He glanced at Harold. He also hated what he was doing, if only just a bit.

"Did you know that cannons were the earliest form of gunpowder artillery? I mean, gosh, just imagine how the design must have influenced the first design of a gun. After all, a cannon used to have to be manned by 200 men at a time. I wonder if the gun came about because they wanted something that any man could use?"

Justin rolled his eyes at Harold's random fact of the day. The nerd was his friend, but he could sure be annoying sometimes.

* * *

**CONFESSIONAL:**

**Justin:** He had his arms crossed and sported a conflicted look in his eyes, "Alright, so Harold could be really useful to me. I could use him to take an official majority of the team's votes and throw Noah out of here next elimination round. Then I could cruise to the merge."

He then pursed his lips, "But he's also a good friend of mine. I mean, we've been in a band together for two years now! I really don't know how I'll live with myself if I have to manipulate and lie to him."

"...maybe he'll understand? I mean, it is 5 million dollars."

* * *

(The Killer Sharks' Ship)

Leshawna loaded the cannon with the first cannonball, lighting it with one of the matches and wincing as the loud sound of it going off rattled her ears. God, she would've hated to have lived in medieval times.

A sudden noise that grew closer attracted her attention now. She looked to her left to see Ezekiel rolling a cannonball toward her with lots of effort, his forehead wrinkling as he pushed the heavy ball.

Leshawna covered her mouth with her hand to stop herself from laughing. Yep, he was definitely not the right person for this job.

She walked over toward him and attempted to scoop the cannonball up before he stopped her.

She looked down at him with a questioning look.

He panted as he looked up at her, "No'o, I can do'o this, eh. I couldn't let ya do'o this."

Leshawna raised an eyebrow and smiled at him, a glint in her eyes.

"Why is that? Still think that girls are too weak to do any heavy-lifting?"

Ezekiel's eyes flew open as he stood up, his hands in a defensive and surrendering position as he scrambled for words, "N-no'o eh! The Zeke just didn't think ya should do'o it because ya might hurt yourself."

His eyes widened a bit as he realized how that sounded, "Not that ya would hurt yourself, homes! The Zeke was just tryin' to be chivalrous!"

Leshawna laughed at his struggle as she patted him on the head, "Don't worry 'bout it white boy. Leshawna was just having some fun with you."

Ezekiel sighed in relief as he glanced at her pathetically.

Eva interrupted the moment, carrying five cannonballs at once toward the cannon with nothing but a grunt.

As she walked past them, she scowled, "You're such a spaz, Homeschool. Just keep Leshawna here company while I DO your job. Your noodle arms aren't going to be that useful here anyway."

Ezekiel looked ready to defend himself when he realized that picking a fight against Eva was probably not advisable for his health. So, he clamped his mouth shut. Talk? He could do that. Though the idea of talking to Leshawna for this long was kind of worrying to him. He didn't know how to talk to girls! That had never been in his textbook at home.

Leshawna began lighting the cannon as Eva walked over to get more cannonballs. The prairie boy racked his mind for something to say. Leshawna seemed to notice this, as she glanced at him out of the corner of her eye.

"Uhhhh, so'o what's up, eh?"

Eva rolled her eyes as she passed him, dropping another armful of cannonballs on the wooden deck.

* * *

**CONFESSIONAL:**

**Eva:** "For a 'big strong man', Homeschool sure sucks at talking to girls. I mean, I set him up and everything there!" Eva threw her hands up in indignation.

* * *

"I'm still tryin' to get jiggy with everyone else's sleep schedules here, yo'o. 'Specially with my new homie Brick gone so'o soon."

Leshawna began laughing at him, shaking her head, "Zeke, you're really something, ya know that?"

Ezekiel racked his brain for a reason why she would be laughing at him. He had just answered her question about how he was feeling!

Man, life was so unfair to him. First he became known as the "Sexist Pig" of Total Drama because of ignorance. Then he became a feral beast consumed with greed. And even after all of that, he still didn't know how to talk to most people.

He could vaguely see Eva pass by him as Leshawna laughed and cleaned the cannon out to make way for another cannonball. The fitness buff seemed almost like she was mouthing something to him.

He squinted and tried to read her lips. Reef walking? That didn't make any sense.

That's when he remembered some advice that his dad had once given him about girls. Eh, he meant another piece of advice about girls.

...

Alright, so maybe the advice had backfired drastically last time, but Ezekiel was never afraid of making big mistakes!

Girls loved a good listener, his dad had told him. So, Ezekiel didn't necessarily have to talk to her. He just had to get her talking.

"Hey Leshawna. What's your home life like, homie?"

Eva rolled her eyes as she heard Leshawna begin telling Ezekiel about herself. Honestly, the idiot couldn't even realize that she was telling him to keep talking.

The fitness buff thought about how clueless people in the prairie must be as she grabbed another handful of cannonballs and walked them back over to the cannon.

* * *

**CONFESSIONAL:**

**Eva:** The fitness buff looked at the camera with interest, "Yeah, I've got to admit that I'm starting to like both Leshawna and Homeschool, so it's good to see that they're getting along. I need all the friends I can get on this show."

 **Leshawna:** Leshawna sits comfortably with one leg tucked over the other, "I've gotta admit, Zeke isn't as bad as I thought he was. I thought that white boy would be clueless about pretty much everything."

She then gained a serious look, "Leshawna needs to dissuade him away from that snake. I just don't know how to do it yet. Maybe if I can get Alejandro eliminated next ceremony..."

 **Ezekiel:** The prairie boy smiled proudly at the camera and made a rap symbol with his hands, "The Zeke is surprised that worked! Maybe he can get his rep up by hangin' with Leshawna more often. After all, she knows how t'a be cool!"

He then gets a thoughtful look on his face, "The Zeke could also use this opportunity t'a convince her that Alejandro'o is a good guy now."

* * *

Cody kept a steady hold of the wheel on the top deck, looking down pridefully at Leshawna, Ezekiel and Eva scrambling down below him.

He briefly pondered on where Manitoba Smith was. The Australian adventurer had said that he wanted to be the navigator, but Cody hadn't seem him since they had first arrived on the ship. To be frank, it was getting kind of dangerous to steer the ship into random directions, even though Cody hadn't actually hit anything yet.

He knew that his teammates hadn't been excited to hear that he was their captain for this challenge, but he had kinda wanted to prove himself strong here. After all, that would be the only way to show his value as a competitor and his value to the ladies.

He fidgeted with the wheel absentmindedly, afraid to make too many turns lest he mess up and end up on the chopping block at the next elimination ceremony. Honestly, he had too much going on to leave the island right now.

He was rudely yanked out of his thoughts at the sound of a loud collision on the top deck of the ship. He frantically ran away from the wheel to look over the edge at his teammates and also to assess the damage. What he saw wasn't quite what he had expected.

He ran down the stairs as quickly as his legs would carry him and stopped right next to the Killer Sharks' only cannon, which was now charred and somewhat destroyed.

"What happened?! Did they get a direct hit on the cannon?!"

Leshawna stuttered gibberish and Ezekiel seemed frozen as Eva, with crossed arms, turned toward the captain.

"Leshawna here was too busy talking to Homeschool to notice that she had loaded two cannonballs in at once. The cannon imploded."

"I'm really sorry you guys! I just completely blanked."

Cody sighed heavily and slapped his forehead, "What are we going to do now?! We have no way to attack!"

A voice laced with a heavy accent interrupted them, "Don't worry mates! Ol' Manitoba Smith will save ya keisters!"

All four of them whirled around to see the cocky Australian, his hands on his hips, walk past them and toward the cannon.

Cody studied him with a puzzled expression. Where had Manitoba been this whole time? Where had he come from? And had those dark circles under his eyes been there before?

Manitoba leaned down onto one knee and slipped a finger inside of the cannon. He withdrew it almost immediately, some charred ashes collected on it. He then licked it with a thoughtful expression.

The explorer immediately hopped back onto his feet with a cheerful voice, "I'll have 'er fixed up in no time!" He then proceeded to dig his hand inside of the cabin as if grasping for something, ignorant to the glances he was getting from his teammates.

Eva looked disgusted, "Yuck, why would you lick that crap?"

Manitoba looked back at her the way that a parent would look at a child, "I needed t'a see what the problem was with it. And it wouldn't 'a been necessary if you girls hadn't fouled 'er up in the first place."

Ezekiel gasped and Cody looked very frightened. The camera panned to Eva next. Her left eye was twitching as she balled up her fists and clenched them.

"After all, ya should never let a woman do a man's job. Not a fit thing for a battleship." The explorer didn't notice the effects his words were having on the others. He was too busy working.

Ezekiel whimpered at the murderous look on Eva's face and tried to hide behind Cody. It looked comical, however, because Ezekiel was bigger and taller than the tech geek.

"This reminds The Zeke 'a when that employee at the Playa called Eva "sir", eh."

Cody had a grimace on his face as he saw Leshawna grab onto Eva's torso to try to stop the fitness buff from throttling Manitoba.

"No. It's worse than that time. She doesn't have any lawn chairs to toss into the pool this time. The Codemeister is going to have to go in."

Ezekiel gulped loudly and saluted him, "The Zeke'll be at your funeral, homes."

Cody nodded and approached the situation cautiously, like how one would approach a wild animal.

"Now Eva, let's all just take a breath. We don't need to let our anger out in a violent way here."

"That's what Leshawna has been trying to say!" Leshawna struggled to keep Eva from getting any closer to Manitoba Smith.

Cody began biting his nails. Eva would probably get to Manitoba in a few seconds! He had to do something to stop it!

That's when he remembered that he was the captain of this ship, even if he wasn't elected democratically. He had to be strong in this situation.

With all of his resolve gathered, he slapped Eva lightly across the face, "Eva! You need to calm down!"

Eva blinked. Then she blinked again.

Ezekiel's eyes were the size of dinner plates, as were Leshawna's. Cody rubbed the back of his neck and nervously chuckled as he realized what he had done. He hoped they would have some chocolate at his funeral.

"Uhhhh, I needed to calm you down...I'm sorry..."

Eva just scowled and crossed her arms, taking a step back.

* * *

**CONFESSIONAL:**

**Cody:** The geek chuckled and rubbed his palms together nervously, "Man, I'm lucky that Eva agreed with me there. I thought for sure that I was a goner."

* * *

(The Killer Sharks' Ship: The Brig)

"I wonder what the first guy to touch the ocean was like? Was he like, 'I'm going to build something to float on this' or did he just drown?"

Scott's rambling was cut off abruptly as he heard footsteps approaching his lonely wooden cell. The farm boy sat up against the wall, his arms crossed as he waited to see who was coming to see him.

Alejandro came into view, a small wooden chair dragging against the floor behind him.

"What's this? You come back to give me my daily prison rations?"

Alejandro smiled at him, "I would never actually leave you down here alone, amigo. I just found it funny to listen to your insane rambling."

The Latino set his chair down right in front of Scott's cell and sat down comfortably, leaning back and examining Scott closely with his eyes.

Scott tried to ignore him but quickly became uncomfortable with being stared at, "What gives? The only people who are allowed to stare at me are the honeys."

Alejandro chuckled slightly, "It's not like that, Scott. I was just wondering what circumstances created an individual such as yourself."

Scott grunted and scowled, leaning back against the wall, "And why would you wanna know that? Care to blackmail me more than you already are?"

Alejandro looked offended, "I'm not blackmailing you, Scott. I'm just trying to help you be a better man."

Scott rolled his eyes, "That's simply not going to happen. I have no reason to act like a pushover in front of these people."

"Do you think that nice people are pushovers because of how you were raised?"

Scott froze, his eyes wide.

A poof could be seen on his left shoulder suddenly as a tiny version of Scott emerged out of a cloud of dust dressed in a cheap-looking Devil Halloween costume.

"Just go over there and clock that annoying snake right in the kisser. I'm tired of hearing him psycho-analyze you." Devil Scott scowled nastily and crossed his arms.

Another cloud of dust appeared on Scott's right shoulder, this one dissipating to reveal a tiny Scott with cheap seagull wings strapped to his back and a bent halo hovering above his head.

"Don't listen to this moron over here, Scott. Alejandro might be shady, but he's just trying to help ya."

Devil Scott narrowed his eyes and started shouting over at Angel Scott, pointing at him angrily, "This impostor over here isn't you! We did just fine last season by being devious and closed-off. I don't see why we should change up the strategy now."

"Tsk tsk, you're acting like a whiny little sow right now. We lost last time, need I remind you, mulch-head," Angel Scott fired back.

Devil Scott began growling as he leapt over to Scott's right shoulder and tackled Angel Scott to the ground. A cartoonish brawl commenced on the cell's wooden floor as they threw punches at each other and began trying to trip the other.

Devil Scott grabbed Angel Scott's halo and began mocking it, "My my, what a nice frisbee you have here," he then squinted at it and tried to yank it off, only to find that it wouldn't budge, "Hey, what gives!? How is this frisbee stuck to you?!"

Angel Scott smirked at him and headbutted the him in the face, "It's called a halo, you amateur!"

Regular Scott panicked and tried to separate the two with his hand, accidentally crushing them into dust, "Stop fighting! You're giving me a headache!"

The farm boy sat up and sighed with relief that the incessant bickering had stopped before realizing that Alejandro had been watching him the whole time. The Latino looked really weirded out.

"Caw! Caw caw caw! Meep!"

Alejandro and Scott both craned their heads to the left, where the obviously-fake bird noises were coming from.

They looked back at each other before Alejandro stood up and motioned for Scott to keep quiet.

"Oh my, I wonder where that exotic-sounding bird is. I'm going to go check it out, Scott." Alejandro said very monotonously before slowly walking toward where the noise came from down the hall.

Alejandro walked down the hall until he came to the point where it opened up into another hallway on the side. He could tell that Lindsay was right on the other side, judging from how her boot was jutting right into plain view.

He heard light giggling coming from the blonde as he quietly approached. Once he got close, he quickly grabbed her arm from around the corner and pulled her into view.

Lindsay looked shocked. She cocked her head in confusion, "How did you, like, know I was here?"

Alejandro tapped his foot as he glanced at her, "Let's just say that I had a gut feeling. Now, are you going to come quietly?"

Lindsay broke free of his grasp and gawked at something behind him. She pointed right over his left shoulder with a gasp, "What is that?!"

Alejandro just leveled his gaze at her, unimpressed.

"Did you really think that I would fall for that old trick, chica? Only an idiot or a child would."

Lindsay immediately began screaming and ran the opposite direction with her hands flailing all over the place. Alejandro just sighed and took off after her.

* * *

Zoey heard Lindsay's signature banshee screams growing fainter in the distance. She smiled; her plan had actually worked!

She crept around the corner of the hallway that she had hid in, tip-toeing over to the giant hole in the ground near where Alejandro had once sat. She quickly got a shabby pirate knife out of her pocket and began ripping the hole even bigger, trying to sink the boat.

She had just gotten onto the ground to get to work when she heard a voice suddenly speak up nearby.

"Why hello there, Zoey. Still good at the art of sabotage, I see."

Zoey scowled; she recognized that voice quite well. The indie chick turned her head to see Scott laying at the front of one of the brig cell's nearby. The farm boy was smiling unkindly at her.

"Save the chatter, Scott. I have no intention of talking to you." Zoey huffed and turned her back on her old enemy.

Scott smirked. Man, he just loved getting on her nerves. Honestly, she should thank him. Fans wouldn't love the bland girl anywhere as much as they did if he hadn't come along.

"What? Are you still upset about how I pretended to be your friend so that I could manipulate you? Or are you steamed about how I manipulated and eliminated Mike?"

Zoey clenched her fists in anger, but tried to ignore the devious farm boy. He was just trying to get under her skin. This thought kept her emotions in check as she tore up the ship's floor.

Scott frowned before getting an idea, "Yeah, it was so noble of you to take me out yourself. Too bad that Mike was too weak to stick around and help you, though." Scott shrugged his shoulders, "I guess that's just life, right Zoey?"

He smirked as he heard Zoey's knife clutter against the ground. He knew he could get her to snap.

Zoey stopped right in front of Scott's cell, glaring hatefully at him, "Don't you dare insult Mike. He's more well-liked by everyone than you will ever be."

Scott closed his eyes and put his hands up in surrender, "Maybe you're right, Zoey. It just seems such a shame how he keeps messing up in the challenges this year. Seems to be getting to the poor guy."

Zoey gasped, "You mean that you've been the one behind all of it? All of Mike's personality changes in the past few days?"

Scott shook his index finger at her, "Now Zoey, I really thought we were beyond this blame-game of yours. Why would I ever sabotage Mike? He's on my team."

Zoey rattled the bars of the cell, "Didn't stop you from sabotaging your own team last year."

Scott just stared at something behind her, his eyes wide.

Zoey quickly looked back, only to see nothing there. She turned back to Scott with an irritated look on her face.

"Yep. Just as gullible as ever! Now, if you would go over and finish sabotaging the ship, I'll get back to doing what I was doing before you so rudely interrupted me."

Zoey grumbled and walked back toward the gaping hole in the ship's wooden floor, "You weren't even doing anything! There's only a bucket in there!"

She heard Scott's voice call out to her one last time, "Foolish Zoey. Always unappreciative of the little things. A bucket can produce hours of entertainment! It was one of my favorite toys back at the farm!"

* * *

(Back on the Beach)

Chris laughed a bit as he lounged in his chair, a giant monitor sitting in front of him and Chef which was playing the current scenes on the ships.

He turned to the camera while wiping a tear from his eyes, "There you have it! Noah and Courtney traded verbal jabs! Leshawna messed up big time! Eva nearly killed Manitoba Smith! Justin can actually feel empathy! Who could've expected any of these things?!"

He then shot a trademark TV smile at the camera as he pointed dramatically, "We'll see you after this commercial break on Total. Drama. WARS!"

"...Hey Chef, do you think these glasses flatter my eyes?"

* * *

**The Killer Sharks: Alejandro, Scott, Cody, Trent, Ezekiel, Mike, Leshawna, Eva, and Gwen**

**The Screaming Bears: Lightning, Heather, Zoey, Courtney, Justin, Noah, Lindsay, and Harold**

* * *

**Elimination Order: Jo, Duncan, Brick, ?**

* * *

**A tad bit late! But I promise you that the second part of this episode will be a big one! You'll be seeing A LOT of action both in the challenge and after it ;) This chapter is a bit of a build up to that.**

**Seriously though, I'm going to try to carve more time for this story. I really love writing it and I love reading what you guys think! I promise a new chapter will come out within every two weeks! Scout's honor!**

**There's a poll at the top of my account profile for you to take! Check it out!**

**Shoot a review if you liked it! Or maybe a follow/fav to the story!**

**Who do you think sabotaged the Killer Sharks if it wasn't Scott? Do you see things Scott's way or Alejandro's way?**

**Who do you support in the tug of war between Noah vs. Justin and Courtney?**

**Can the Killer Sharks come back from the brink of defeat?**

**And what is happening over on the Screaming Bears' ship?**

**Find out next time! This is WhatTheHeck23 signing off!**


	8. Who's Got The Power? (Episode 5 Part 2)

**Disclaimer: I don't own Total Drama or any of its characters. The Total Drama Series and all of its characters are the property of FreshTV and the parent company of the Total Drama television show.**

**To Reviewer Serious Comedian: I'm glad to hear you're loving the story! Honestly, an in-depth review like you wrote is what gives me the energy to keep writing. Cody x Eva is not confirmed for the story yet (Don't want to give anything away ;), but I'm glad that you're liking those interactions as well as Cody's stuff with Gwen and with Trent. Lightning is one of my favorite comedy-reliefs, so I love writing his scenes too. Noah vs Justin and Courtney is probably the part that I'm most excited to flesh out as we continue. As for Alejandro and Scott, you'll just have to wait and see. I can assure you that something interesting is going on there.**

**To Reviewer Gucci: Don't worry, you'll find out who the saboteur was soon enough! Leshawna and Ezekiel weren't originally supposed to be such a big part of the last chapter, but I liked it so much that I decided to prolong it for the plot. I think it worked out well. Courtney and Noah was definitely a conflict that I thought would serve the plot and be hilarious lol. I think it was my favorite scene so far. As for Scott and Zoey, I really wanted to bring that conflict back, as I think it's really entertaining.**

**To Reviewer Guest: Your theory might be right...or it might be wrong ;) I'll let you decide. It's a nice guess, though. I'm glad to hear that you're enjoying Eva's development, and also that you like how Cody was last chapter. Justin is having some moral complications, but we'll see where that goes. As for Noah's plan, I'm glad you liked it. Writing Lightning and Noah together was fun.**

**To Reviewer MasterArtist: Thanks for reviewing! Your question is a bit complicated, as I can't tell you if Mal will be appearing in the story. It would either give you false hope or ruin any surprises. My suggestion is that you read the reviews for last chapter and see one of the reviewer's theories on that. My hands are tied ;) I do hope you'll continue reading and telling me what you think, though. I'm glad that you're liking my direction with Alejandro too, as I know that it might be a bit controversial with some fans who liked him canonically.**

**To Reviewers Amber and Bayleigh: Thanks for the support! Glad to hear that some people on AO3 are liking the story as much as my viewers on Fanfiction :)**

* * *

**Day 5 Part 2: Who's Got The Power?**

(The Eastern Beach of Camp Wawanakwa)

Chris McLean gave his trademark TV smile as he laid comfortably on his foldout beach chair, "Welcome back viewers! For those just tuning in, the campers are playing pirates right now. Their goal is to sink the opposing ship on Wawanakwa harbor! And so far, the Screaming Bears are actually winning, fairly this time! But I'll stop blabbering and let you see the action for yourself! I see something good about to happen!"

The host pointed at the monitor in front of him, and the camera zeroed in on it, fading into the scenes happening on both pirate ships.

* * *

(The Screaming Bears' Ship: The Brig)

An echoing scratching noise could be heard all throughout the lower ship decks, cascading down the wooden hallways that were otherwise eerily silent.

The camera swept into the brig to see Heather scowling slightly and handily filing away at her nails with a large metallic nail-file. She was leaning up against one of the cell doors, "actively" guarding the area from any invaders from the other team. She took a quick look around as she heard a pitter-patter nearby, but quickly dismissed it. It was probably just a rat or something, and there was no way she was going to go looking for trouble.

* * *

**CONFESSIONAL:**

**Heather:** "So I did get lucky enough to be away from all of the team drama, which was nice. The less time I spend hearing about Justin's 'beauty' or Courtney's claim to leadership, the better. And maybe they'll get on each others' nerves so much that I'm left off of the chopping block."

She then crossed her arms distastefully, "My strategy right now is to avoid stepping on anyone's toes. Which, unfortunately, means I need to play nice with the dumbest of people."

* * *

"Captain on the sha-bridge!"

Heather swung her head annoyedly at the door entrance across from her as Lightning came marching in, his head held up egotistically and his cheap captain hat clasped tightly around his head. She put a strained smile on her face as she put her nail-file away.

"Hey there captain. What are you doing over here? I thought we were going to stay on _opposite_ sides of the lower deck to cover more ground?" Heather gritted her teeth roughly behind her smile.

"Captain Lightning just came to check on you. What is your report?"

Heather growled silently, "My report, my dear captain, is that literally nothing is going on down here. No casualties, yet." She saluted him mockingly. He grinned in satisfaction at her before walking back through the doorway.

"Sha-great! Keep up the great wor—WHAT IS THAT?!"

Heather's head flew to the doorway where Lightning had previously been standing. She heard the faint sound of rustling around and Lightning screaming for a few moments before things got a lot quieter.

Should she go and check on him? Honestly, she wasn't sure it was worth the aggravation of having to listen to that obnoxious voice again.

That was when she heard the sound of footsteps fast-approaching the brig. Heather brought her nail-file out swiftly and held it like a sword in case it was someone from the other team.

Her worries evaporated when Lightning came trudging back into the room, Gwen slung uncomfortably over his shoulder.

"Oh c'mon, surely we can work something out?"

"Lightning doesn't listen to invaders! Open the door!"

Heather blanked for a moment before realizing that Lightning was directing his statement at her. She quickly stepped toward the nearest brig cell and held the door open.

Lightning tossed Gwen into the cell roughly as Heather closed the door swiftly and locked it. Lightning brushed his hands proudly against each other as he studied Gwen.

"Keep a watch on the prisoner. Captain Lightning is going to go see if anyone came with her." He nodded at Heather authoritatively and then briskly walked out of the room. Heather scowled at the doorway once he was out of sight,

"So I can see that you're high up on the pecking order this year, Heather."

Heather glanced behind her at Gwen, who was gripping the wooden bars of her cell. The queen bee scoffed as she sat down on a cheap wooden chair and locked eyes with the goth, "Captain idiot back there is technically in-charge right now, but they'll soon learn that I always have leverage in this game. Also, how could I ever turn down a request to lock you up?" Heather now sported an evil smirk.

Gwen puffed, "Just the same as before. And here I was thinking that being the "hero" in World Tour had changed you."

Heather's eyes widened and she walked over to the cell angrily, "Don't mention that to me. Do you hear me?! All of that for what? Nothing. I lost the money and I lost...nothing else." She looked distinctly uncomfortable after this last part.

Gwen's eyes lit up and she smirked, putting her hands on her hips, "Ahhhhhh, I see what this is all about. What, are you bitter that you gave up Alejandro for the money, just to lose the money too?"

The goth now rolled her eyes, "You could've just found him after the show and apologized. That is, if it meant anything to you."

Heather winced briefly, the barbed words tearing into her. Remembering who she was talking to, though, her eyebrows narrowed as she gripped the bars of Gwen's cell.

"Who are you to lecture me on romance? From what I remember, you not only screwed up with Trent, but you also betrayed Courtney for Duncan," Heather's nose crinkled with disgust at the mention of the punk.

Gwen's face turned defiant at the thought of her rival lecturing her, "I did what I had to do. Trent was being really obsessive and he was actively making the game unfair. I didn't feel right letting that go on."

Heather turned her nose up, "Yeah, maybe that's true, but I couldn't help but notice that you left out the whole Courtney thing in your little rebuttal."

Gwen crossed her arms, "As if I would ever talk about that with you. What would you even know about it? You tried to steal Trent from me back in season 1."

"Oh please. I only kissed Trent for strategic advantage. And you and I weren't friends at the time. It's hardly the same thing at all, and you know it."

"Let me guess, "it wasn't anything personal"? You say that all of the time, just to have an excuse for all of the horrible stuff you do."

Heather pursed her lips, "You still don't understand. A million dollars is worth all of that. People can get over things, but I can't win the money by being nice. That's just how life works, Gwen." Heather mocked the goth by using a tone one would use to explain something to a child."

Gwen slouched to the back of her cell and laid down against the uncomfortable wooden wall, "We don't have anything to talk about. Just leave me alone, Heather."

Heather strutted back to her chair, her back now turned to Gwen, "Hmmph, not like it matters much to me. But I was on Team Amazon too, and I wouldn't betray a true friend like that for some guy."

Gwen had a conflicted look on her face as she tried to get into a comfortable position.

* * *

**CONFESSIONAL:**

**Gwen:** She looked solemnly at the camera, "Alright, so maybe Heather has a point, even if she is an utter witch. What I did was messed up."

The goth sighed heavily and looked regretfully forward, "I've wanted to apologize for it, but Courtney won't listen to me for more than a few moments. I just really don't know what to do." She hung her head down.

* * *

(The Screaming Bears' Ship: Upper Deck)

Trent hid on the vacant part of the ship, concealed behind a barrel as he pondered what he could even do here. Gwen had been captured by Lightning just a few minutes after they had crawled into the ship, and the musician had been forced to hide on the upper deck to avoid facing a similar fate.

It was such a shame. Here was an opportunity to bond with Gwen handed on a platter to him by his good friend Cody, and it had been wrecked right at the start. That was just his luck, he lamented.

But what could he really do alone? Sure, Lightning wasn't up here, but he was facing 4-on-1 odds in any fight or attempt to sabotage. Trent wasn't sure if everyone knew this, but he wasn't the most muscular contestant on this show, or the most impressive.

His eyes drifted slowly to a wooden sword that he had picked up on the lower deck. It had been on a weapons rack, but he couldn't honestly claim to be good at sword-fighting.

He sighed as he tried to think of a plan.

* * *

**CONFESSIONAL:**

**Trent:** "Yeah, I'm pretty much screwed, so I might as well give it my all. At the least, I could buy my team some time to take the ship out with our cannon. I'm not going to be dead-weight here," the musician held a determined look in his eyes.

* * *

Up on the navigation and steering deck, Courtney and Noah were finally having a civil conversation.

Or, at the least, a _more_ civil conversation than they were having before.

"Hmmm, law school? You know, I might like talking to you more if you weren't such a loudmouth."

Courtney, being used to these softball insults by now, just rolled her eyes as she held the wheel.

"Oh please. Anyone would be a loudmouth to you. You barely take the initiative to stand, let alone be passionate about things."

Noah raised an eyebrow, "You know, I would almost be offended by that if I cared at all what others thought of me. I, like you, Ms. Perfect, am going to law school once I'm free of this dumb show. That doesn't mean that I have to scream at people and be pissy all the time."

Courtney's mouth curled into an angry frown, "I don't do that! I'm completely capable of being nice and polite! Just ask anyone!"

"Maybe I'll ask Gwen, eh? Or perhaps Harold, or literally anyone else in the universe. Acting like a child is one thing, but trying to pretend that you don't is even dumber." Noah kept his gaze measured and his voice neutral as he lazily sat on a chair, the map rolled up next to him.

Courtney growled quietly, "I'll show you. I'll show the whole world."

Noah's eyes softened and he looked a bit confused as he tried to process what that meant. He was about to retort when something interrupted him.

Suddenly, a distinct shout pierced the air, startling both of them.

"Niiiiiiine!"

The sound could be heard by Harold and Justin as well, both of them crouched next to their ship's cannon. They both hopped onto their feet as the sound reached them.

Justin immediately began panicking, grabbing handfuls of his hair with a scared look, "Ahhhhh! We're being attacked by Nazis! I'll catch the ugliness! Quick, Harold, shield me!" Justin jumped onto Harold in a cradling position as his eyes darted all around.

Noah's voice sarcastically echoed forward to answer him, "Nah, Courtney's still up here!"

Harold's knees buckled under Justin's weight, "Gosh! Nazis don't ride on pirate ships; they ride in submarines! At least be historically accurate." The nerd dropped Justin onto the deck with a scowl.

Justin scrambled over to a nearby weapons' rack and grabbed a wooden sword as he glanced upward, "God! I know that we don't talk that often, but ruining me now would be like ruining your own perfect sculpture!"

Harold ran over to the rack as well, grabbing a wooden sword and doing some dramatic air-moves with it, "I shall wield this in defense of our ship! Come now, my companion!"

Courtney rushed over to the rack now, shoving Harold to the ground and grabbing two swords for herself. She rolled her eyes as she pointed up to the top of the ship's mast, "You idiots! The shout came from up there!"

Harold and Justin both looked up at the ship's mast to see Trent, a pirate hat on his head, standing proudly at the top of it with a wooden sword. He smiled cockily down at them and saluted them, "Hey guys! The ship looks great from up here! I think you should hire a decorator though! It's all the same color!"

Harold growled as he got back up, holding his sword out threateningly, in a fashion that one would grip a katana, "How dare you insult the classic style and design of our noble vessel. I'll show you what-for, invader!" The nerd ran toward the mast and jumped onto it, trying to climb. He succeeded for a few seconds before abruptly slipping right back down to the bottom. A crack could be heard as he slammed against the deck.

"Owwww! My tush!"

Justin, realizing that he looked like a spaz before, rolled his eyes and tried to look cool. He grabbed his sword firmly and pushed Harold aside, "Watch a real professional at work, Harold! I've had to climb many-a fire exits back in the cities." The male model wrapped his hands around the mast and began climbing.

"You've climbed into peoples' houses?'

"No! Of course not! I meant that I climbed them to escape from paparazzi!"

Noah observed this all wearily, not moving a muscle. He saw no reason to waste any energy trying to climb all the way up when Trent would probably just slide down anyway. It was a classic troll move.

He was content on watching from the sidelines until Courtney shoved a wooden sword into his arms roughly, giving him a measured glance. He stared right back at her with a cocked eyebrow, "What do you expect me to do with this?"

The pretentious CIT scowled, holding both of her swords like lethal weapons, "I expect you to help out, lazy bones! You really think any law university is going to accept you if you never do anything?"

Noah looked thoughtful for a few seconds before nodding. Courtney rolled her eyes and ran over to stand at the bottom of the mast in case Trent slid down.

Noah's eyes darted back and forth as he saw Harold, Justin, and Courtney crowding the mast. He glanced briefly down at the wooden sword that Courtney had shoved into his arms before gulping and shouting, "Hey guys, I'm going to call the captain up here!"

The bookworm sighed in relief as he rushed over to the doorway leading down into the ship. He would leave the inevitable swordfight to the others. Wouldn't want to butt in on their fun and all that.

He cupped his hands around his mouth, "Oh captain! My captain! Rise up and hear the bells!"

After waiting a few moments afterward, he tried again.

"Hey captain! We need some assistance up here!"

Immediately loud thumping could be heard from inside of the ship. Noah pressed his head up against the door moments before Lightning burst through it, slamming the bookworm into the wall.

"Don't worry troops! Captain Lightning is here to save you!" He let out a battle cry as he rushed over the deck toward the mast. The door swung closed as he did so, revealing a bitter-looking Noah who was laying on the ground beside it.

"I'll be sending my medical bills to you, captain!"

The things I put up with for this show, honestly," he muttered to himself quietly as he watched the action.

Justin began sweating a bit as he neared the top of the mast. The model panted a bit before looking up at Trent, who looked down at him from the top.

"Just give up already, Trent! I'm about to get up there, and when I do—"

Trent shot him a mischievous smirk as he gripped the ropes attached to the ship's sail, his wooden sword in-hand as he slouched.

Justin scowled, his eyes growing dark, "You're really going to be that much of a jerk? I climbed all the way up here! A true friend would let me capture him!"

Trent shrugged at him sympathetically, "Sorry Justin, but I figure this makes us even for how many times your sleeping fan has woken me up on tours."

"You know that I need that to keep my skin all silky smooth!"

Trent jumped just as Justin's hand gripped the top of the mast, the musician's hands gripping the sail's rope tightly as he drug his wooden sword across the flimsy sheet. The sail ripped right down the middle as he flew downward across the ship. Lightning ran to intercept him in the middle of the deck, his arms held up high and his chest puffed out, "C'mon! The Lightning can take it!"

As it turned out, The Lightning could not take it.

Trent's eyes closed tightly in slight fear as he sped up with momentum, crashing directly into Lightning as the sail dragged behind him. Trent opened his eyes soon afterward, marveling as he looked down at himself.

"Really? I'm not hurt!" He cheered as he stood up, his wooden sword in-hand.

Lightning groaned from beneath him, laying on his stomach and sprawled out upon the deck, the ripped sail on top of the bottom portion of his body.

"Now you're right where Lightning wants you. Sha-bam," Lightning said weakly, before passing out mere seconds later. Trent shot him an odd look before turning around as he heard a noise.

"Well, well...well. We meet again on the battlefield."

Trent rolled his eyes, "You don't have to be so dramatic, Harold. Let's just get to the fighting." He drew his wooden sword and held it in a fighting stance. Nearby, Justin crashed into the ground painfully, having fallen off of the top of the mast.

Harold did a karate pose and held his wooden sword in the air, "That's what's wrong with action movies these days, though. All-action and no suspense or wit. That's why the movie industry is slowly declining from their old style of originality."

Trent charged the nerd, their swords clashing as they began battling in quite a nerdy fashion.

* * *

(The Killer Sharks' Ship)

Manitoba Smith fiddled with the cannon's exterior, measuring the rope attached to it near the back before giving his teammates a thumbs up.

"It should be good for the go now!"

Eva was quick to push the explorer out of the way, inspecting the cannon with her eyes really quickly before shoving a cannonball inside, "Alright then! We need to get to firing before we lose! Homeschool, light the fuse!"

Ezekiel looked extremely startled at his name being called. He scrambled over to the cannon beside Eva and took out one of the matches from the box. He tried in vain to light it on his pants several times.

Each time the prairie boy struck the match against himself, Cody grew slightly more sympathetic. After the fourth try, the tech geek walked over, grabbed the match from the surprised Ezekiel, and lit it quickly off of the ship's side. He looked at Eva for confirmation. The fitness buff grunted in affirmation, and Cody quickly lit the cannon's match. It seemed to sizzle for a moment before some loud sounds could be heard coming from inside of it.

Cody's eyes widened, "Everyone hit the deck!"

Everyone around dropped immediately, except for Ezekiel, who just looked confused.

"Hit the deck? Is that some sort 'a slang that The Zeke doesn't kno'ow, eh?"

"Shut up and get down, Zeke!" Leshawna's left arm shot up, yanking on Ezekiel's toque and pulling him down to the ground.

The cannon exploded just a few seconds afterwards, falling into the water below and taking out a sizable chunk of the deck with it.

Everyone stood up as they heard the cannon plop into the water, going over to look over the edge of where it had used to be.

Eva glared at Manitoba Smith, crossing her arms and scowling, "So it's 'good for the go', eh?"

The explorer turned his head to look at the others with a neutral face. When he noticed the others glaring at him now, he just sheepishly smiled, "Well hey, at least I tried."

* * *

**CONFESSIONAL:**

**"Mike":** He chuckled darkly, the dark circles under his eyes pronounced and his pirate hat tipped down over his forehead, "How unfortunate of an accident that was back there. I mean, who could've known that the cannon would just blow up like that, eh?" His voice sounded noticeably deeper than usual and his Australian accent was mysteriously gone.

* * *

(The Screaming Bears' Ship)

Justin groaned in pain as he laid uncomfortably at the bottom of the ship's mast, crushed into the wooden deck. His limbs were all tangled up with each other. Jeez, beauty wasn't meant to do such daredevil stunts. If only his team understood that, but alas, most of them knew nothing of beauty.

He strained to sit up and untangle himself before a mocha-colored hand extended toward him. His blue eyes widened in shock as his blurred vision caught sight of a figure in front of him. No, it couldn't be.

"Mom? Is that you?"

"No, you idiot. We're not related, and thank god for that."

Justin's confused eyes focused on the figure as he began connecting who it was based on the voice.

Justin looked up surprisingly at her, taking her hand as she helped him up, "You're helping me instead of attacking Trent? I'm pleasantly surprised."

Courtney looked somewhat offended as she helped the model up into a standing position, "Hey now, I can be nice. I'm nice all of the time."

Justin rolled his eyes, "Yeah, and French is a great language too. Good one, Courtney."

Courtney smacked him on the head roughly. He groaned and massaged the spot that she had hit, "What the heck! What was that for?"

Courtney growled at him as she picked both of her swords back up from the ground, "For being a jerk. Didn't your mother ever teach you to not insult a lady?"

Justin silently had the thought, as he looked at her, that she was definitely not a lady. But he knew he couldn't say that out loud if he wanted to stay alive. Those swords might be wooden, but he didn't doubt that Courtney could find a way to kill him with them if she put her mind to it.

"O-of course, my fellow alliance member. I'm terribly sorry for being rude."

Courtney grunted, "Whatever. Just get your head in the game. We need to take care of Trent, and Harold is way too weak to do it alone."

Nearby, Noah watched as Trent and Harold geekily clashed wooden swords. God, they were being so dramatic. It might've even looked cool if Trent wasn't counting the number of strikes he made out loud and if Harold wasn't going in slow-motion when he got hit.

He walked over to where Lightning was passed out on the deck, hesitantly poking the athlete with the tip of his wooden sword.

"Hey Lightning, get up. Harold could use some help over there. You know, the braindead and physically strong kind."

Lightning didn't answer. His body continued to lay there like a sack of potatoes. Noah looked over to the camera solemnly, "But I with mournful dread, walk the deck my captain lies, fallen cold and dead."

Courtney ran by the bookworm at this moment, "Stop reciting poetry and come help! We kind of have a challenge to win and we can't fire the cannon until Trent is taken care of!"

Noah rolled his eyes, "And what do you expect me to do? Use my head?"

* * *

"It's hopeless, Trent. I have the high ground."

Trent's eyes darted around desperately. Harold had indeed backed the musician into a corner. Now, his only choices were either to be captured or to flee from the top deck, which would allow the Bears to fire cannonballs again. Neither option looked great if he wanted to win today.

That was when his eyes caught sight of the various objects around him. Sure, it wasn't too sportsmanlike, but these were street rules as far as he was concerned.

Trent quickly picked up a large guitar that rested just inside of the doors leading to the lower decks and quickly slapped Harold across the face with it. The nerd held his head in pain and dropped his sword.

"Gosh, you hit me with a guitar? How cowardly is that?!"

Trent winced as he watched Harold crawl painfully on the ground. He flipped the guitar in his hand, "What can I say? The guitar will always be my main weapon. And a true warrior adapts to his environment."

Harold held his head, "Yeah, I guess that's fair. You've beaten me in fair battle. I won't attack you again."

Trent stepped forward, "In that case, let me help you up," he held out his hand for his friend, and Harold gladly accepted it. Trent pulled the nerd to his feet.

Harold regarded the musician with a look of respect, "I've gotta say, I liked your moves. Let me guess, fencing lessons?"

Trent rubbed his head, "Actually, lightsaber fights when I was a kid. Pretty much the same thing."

Harold nodded, "Ah, I can respect that."

In the blink of an eye, however, this peaceful moment of camaraderie was broken.

"Get out of the way, Harold! Let a real woman show you how to do it!" Harold was shoved to the wall behind them as someone else approached.

"Please call 9-1-1! She's gone insane!"

Courtney stepped threateningly toward Trent, holding a large weapon in her hands as she swung it at the surprised musician.

Trent just stood there as she swung at him. He wasn't as much surprised at her aggression as he was at her weapon!

Courtney was wielding Noah like she would a giant sword!

"Let's see you come back from this, music boy!" Noah collided with Trent as both boys crumpled painfully in a heap on the ground. Courtney put her hands on her hips and looked satisfied as she gazed down at them.

"Sorry Trent. You know how the game is. And congrats Noah, you've finally proven your worth in a physical challenge." With that, she began walking back onto the top deck, already shouting at Justin to help her load the cannons.

* * *

**CONFESSIONAL:**

**Noah:** The bookworm scowled at the camera, "Yep, there goes my sympathy for Courtney. She must be bipolar with how often she switches moods."

 **Harold:** He looked petrified, "Yeah, maybe I need to butter Courtney up a bit before I try to outright apologize."

 **Trent:** The musician laughed, "I guess you could call me, 'The Guitar Hero'."

He chuckled to himself for a few seconds before looking at the camera, "Yeah, I'll get out of here now."

* * *

(Onshore)

Chris leaned forward in his chair, his face incredulous as he watched all of this last scene take place on the monitor in front of him.

He turned to Chef, his mouth gaping open, "Did you see that, Chef!? Did ya? Did ya?"

Chef scowled, "Of course I saw it! I'm not doing anything else!" The big man sneakily slipped his Bluetooth headphones back into his pocket alongside his iPod.

"I just knew that bringing Courtney back would be a big ratings hit! She's really bringing the pain today! It's odd actually; I expected her to be more violent when Duncan was still here. I guess that Noah and Harold get under her skin more." The host scratched his chin in thought.

Chef scoffed, "That? That was nothing compared to the swordfights that I had in the Army."

"..."

Chris looked at Chef strangely for a minute or two, "... Soooooooo...you worried about the kids getting too hurt out there?"

Chef returned Chris's stare before they both began cracking up in laughter.

"You really had me for a moment there, Chris!"

"I know, I know! I'm a huge crack-up, I've been told!"

The intern from earlier, who was currently pouring a bucket full of chum into the water, just looked at the two men strangely. Why, oh why, couldn't he have taken that job on the cruise ship?

* * *

**CONFESSIONAL:**

**Chris:** The host scratched his head in confusion, "Do I just not know anything? Since when does the Canadian Army use swords?! Is Chef pulling my leg? What is going on?!"

* * *

(The Killer Sharks' Ship)

Alejandro gripped Lindsay's wrist tightly as he led the blonde back to the brig.

"You put up a good fight, chica, but sadly—"

An alarm blared on throughout the entire ship, interrupting him abruptly.

"Hello campers! Guess whooooooo?!"

There was a few seconds of silence. Alejandro rolled his eyes and Lindsay pursed her lips.

"...That's right! It's me! Chris McLean!"

"I'm here to declare a winner of our little challenge! Meet me on the boat that isn't sinking and we'll start the follow-up challenge!"

Alejandro sighed in relief, still leading Lindsay toward the brig, "Alright, we won the challenge then. Mind coming with me to free Scott?"

Lindsay giggled, "No problem, Alejandro. Maybe Zoey is down there. She'll be soooo sad that we couldn't protect the movies."

Alejandro chuckled, "It wasn't that kind of piracy, Lindsay. You know, you never fail to amuse me."

Lindsay beamed at him, "Thanks!"

They reached the brig after a few more minutes of walking, only to find that Zoey was indeed there. Beside her was a giant hole in the ship. Water was gushing in by every passing moment.

Zoey flinched as she turned around and saw Alejandro and Lindsay standing there, "Sorry."

Alejandro sighed heavily and released Lindsay, "Well, it seems like my team didn't win after all. Let me just go and free Scott."

The Latino walked over to Scott's cell to see him playing with a silver bucket. He raised an eyebrow, "What are you doing?"

As soon as the key turned and the door drifted open, Scott ran out of the cell, his eyes wide, "FREEEEE! It's been soo long since I was free!"

Zoey rolled her eyes, "Oh please. It hasn't been long at all."

Scott put a hand to his ear, "I'm sorry, Alejandro, do you hear that? It sounded like an annoying buzzing sound."

Zoey scoffed angrily and kicked Scott right in the crotch. Lindsay flinched, as did Alejandro. Scott, on the other hand, fell to the ground and began groaning in pain.

"Hey Alejandro, what kicked me? I didn't see anything nearby," Scott gasped out, trying to continue the joke.

Alejandro cautiously walked over to help the farm boy up, "Yeah, you're definitely the winner here."

* * *

(The Screaming Bears' Ship)

"Alright! We have our winners! Judging by which ship we're currently standing on, I'm sure I don't have to tell you who the winners are."

The Killer Sharks groaned disappointedly.

"But I'll do it anyway! The Screaming Bears clearly won! I mean, it wasn't even close!"

The Screaming Bears broke into wild cheers, especially Lightning. The Killer Sharks just stared at the wooden deck below.

"Sha-yeah! Lightning led his team to victory! Sha-bam!"

Chris clapped his hands together with a big grin. Chef Hatchet also laughed from behind the host.

Chris turned to Chef, "You hear that enthusiasm, Chef? I think Lightning is the perfect candidate to begin the follow-up challenge!"

Chef laughed insanely, which prompted some of the campers to give fearful looks to each other. All of Lightning's confidence seemed to evaporate in an instant as he gulped loudly.

Chef smirked widely at them all after he stopped laughing, "I definitely think that he'll do, Chris. Want me to get him into position?"

Chris nodded. Chef walked sinisterly over to Lightning. The athlete took a battle stance, but Chef just scoffed and tossed him over his shoulder like a ragdoll. The other watched as Lightning protested.

"C'mon man! Put me down! Maybe the Lightning can give you an autograph?!"

Chef scowled and plopped the athlete down on the narrow plank that hung flimsily on the side of the ship. The plank rocked up and down a bit as Lightning clung to it on all fours.

Chris smiled and pulled out a megaphone, "Alright campers! The follow-up challenge is a trivia challenge about prior Total Drama seasons! All in pirate style! I'll ask each of you a series of questions, and you'll have to answer them correctly to win and get off of the plank. Get one wrong, and you'll be thrown overboard, matey!"

He now took out a small yellow notecard and cleared his throat, "Ahem, Lightning, what was the name of the first person eliminated in Total Drama Revenge of the Island? Arrgh, give me the name I need."

The camera panned over to Noah, who rolled his eyes, "And there's the Pirates of the Caribbean reference. Should've known it was coming."

Lightning clung to the plank for dear life, "What a stupid sha-question! Lightning would never remember the name of such a big loser!"

Chris looked unimpressed as he glanced up at the athlete, "I'll give you one hint: she was on your team. Ring any bells?"

Lightning looked thoughtful for a moment, "...Jerry?"

Chris grinned evilly. Chef shared the same expression as he stared back at the host. Chris quickly gave the cook a nod and Chef pulled a large bazooka out of his back pocket, aiming it directly at Lightning.

Lightning screamed bloody murder as Chef pulled the trigger. Immediately, three jellyfish soared through the air and smacked right into Lightning. The tentacles tangled around him as he was fell off of the ship's plank and into the water.

Chris rushed over to the side and peered down at where he had fallen, "You gotta pee on it, bro! Also, don't bother climbing back up! Losers have to swim back!"

Many sets of eyes around him widened.

"Wait, we have to swim back to shore if we lose?" Gwen did not look enthusiastic about this new rule, but she also didn't look surprised.

Chris smiled and closed his eyes, "Ah, Gwen. You should've expected that by now. Do I look boring to you?"

Gwen smirked and crossed her arms, "You certainly don't look interesting. Tell me, when was the last date you went on?"

People awwed at the burn. Chris's face turned red.

"And our next volunteer to walk the plank is Gwen! Chef, get Gwen over there, will you?"

Chef scooped Gwen up, carried her over, and tossed her out onto the plank.

The goth scowled as she worked hard to maintain her balance, "Me and my big mouth."

Chris grinned and read aloud a question from a new notecard, this one blue, "Gwen, who was the first camper eliminated in Total Drama Island?"

Gwen thought about it for a moment, "Ezekiel."

Chris stomped his foot, "Dangit, I thought you would've forgotten."

"Second question! how many episodes did Chef take over my job in Total Drama Island?"

"Easy. Twice. The boot-camp episode and the race through the woods with Sasquatchenakwa. I could never forget that." She cringed visibly at the memory of being chased by the giant ape all over the island and through that dark cave.

Chris gritted his teeth, "That is correct. But this third one is a doozy now!"

"Who did Courtney flirt with to get back at Duncan in Total Drama World Tour?"

Courtney scowled at the question over in the pack of contestants. Gwen answered quickly, "Tyler."

"To clarify, there was no attraction there!"

Chris rolled his eyes, "Yeah, suuuuure, Courtney. Suuuuure."

He narrowly dodged a pirate hat a second later, "Hey!"

Courtney just whistled innocently with her hands clasped behind her back. Her head, however, was no longer covered by a pirate hat.

Chris glared at her before glancing back at his notecard, "Alright Gwen! Let's see you get this one! How many contestants were there in Total Drama Action?"

Gwen looked to be counting in her head, her lips moving silently. She seemed to be muttering to herself.

Chris waited patiently for a minute before she finally answered, "15! Final answer." She smirked at him with her hands on her hips.

Chris smirked evilly, "I'm afraid that you're wrong. Owen, Justin, you, Beth, Lindsay, Courtney, Harold, Trent, Duncan, Bridgette, Geoff, DJ, Leshawna, Heather, Izzy, annnnnnd E-Scope."

Gwen threw her hands up, "What?! You're counting Izzy's weird alter-ego?! This is rigged!"

Chris shook his head, "Gwen, Gwen. You've gotta learn to be a good sport. Chef, help her walk the plank."

Gwen's eyes widened as Chef pulled his jellyfish-bazooka out again and put his finger on the trigger. She just managed to jump into the water below as the jellyfish soared across the plank.

Chris sighed and snapped his fingers, "Darn, I was really looking forward to seeing her get pegged. Oh well, next!"

A montage ensued of various contestants standing uneasily on the flimsy wooden plank. Some clips played of them reluctantly giving answers to Chris before getting hit in the face with jellyfish and plunging into the waters below. The most prominent one was of Harold rambling about something before Chef shot him out of mere irritation. Harold was helped back up to the ship's deck because he had answered everything correctly despite his rambling.

The camera focused on Chris directly now as he clapped his hands cheerfully, "Alright! You're up last, Noah!

"Great. I'm so excited," Noah remarked dully as he stood on the wooden plank.

Chris fished out a notecard and began reading from it, "What was the name of Team Amazon's camel in Total Drama World Tour?"

Noah looked unimpressed as he crossed his arms, "Ruby."

Chris looked surprised before reading another, "Alright then. What did my cousin Jerd say to you and Alejandro in Newfoundland in Total Drama World Tour?"

Noah rolled his eyes, "The worst thing that you can have in your head is no teeth. What a dumb saying, really."

Chris looked defensive, "Hey now! It's an amazing language and place. After all, they produced moi." The host motioned to himself proudly.

"Next question please."

"Alright, man. Don't be getting all eager on me now. Who did Team Chris stretch on the torture rack in London during Total Drama World Tour?"

Noah didn't even blink, "Easy. We stretched Tyler. Did it myself. Are all of these questions going to be from Total Drama World Tour?"

Chris smirked, "Hey, it's not my fault that you didn't make the cut for Action. It's also not my fault that you got eliminated in the fourth episode of Total Drama Island."

Noah narrowed his eyes. Chris looked delighted to have finally gotten a reaction out of him.

"Total Drama's know-it-all has emotions?! Who knew?!"

He calmed down a few seconds later and gazed at his notecard once more, "Alright. You want a question from another season? Fine."

"Who was the only contestant of Total Drama Island to stitch and design her own clothes?"

Noah bit his lip and looked to be deep in thought. Chris went ahead and motioned for Chef to get the bazooka ready.

"Hmmmmm, a nice try, to be sure. I would almost be fooled if I didn't know that it was Katie."

Chris looked positively shocked, "How did you know that?! I picked that one specifically to get you eliminated!"

Noah smirked as he slowly stepped off of the plank and back onto the ship's deck, "What can I say? Katie and Sadie both annoyed me relentlessly at the Playa. There's only so much that a guy can just tune out."

Chris looked steamed, but turned to face the camera anyway, "Alright then, we have our winners. For the Screaming Bears, both Noah and Harold win tonight's reward! You two both have won access to the luxury bathroom trailer won by the Killer Sharks in the first episode! Isn't that great?!"

Noah shrugged. Harold didn't look particularly happy either.

"You just made that the reward because you ran out of ideas, right?"

Chris looked as if he had just been struck, "I'm wounded! I made that the reward because you campers messed up last challenge, making me move this follow-up to today! Reallllly inconvenienced me."

Harold looked like he wanted to say something else, but Chris beat him to the punch, "As much as I would love to listen to one of your lectures Harold, we're kinda low on time here! The winners of immunity in tonight's ceremony are, surprisingly, Scott and Eva!"

Chris motioned to the Killer Sharks still onboard the ship, only to squint as he noticed something.

"Hey, wait a moment...I threw you overboard earlier, didn't I?"

Ezekiel, the person he was talking to, just puffed his chest up proudly as all eyes fell on him.

"Word, but I've got great reflexes, homes. I grabbed onto one 'a the cannon holes below and climbed back in."

Chris smiled, "Impressive. Very impressive."

* * *

"N-now hold on now! Put The Zeke down, eh!"

Chris wore a satisfied smirk on his face as Chef carried Ezekiel swiftly over to the side of the ship, looking ready to toss the prairie boy overboard. Ezekiel's hands were tied together with thick rope, as were his feet.

"You heard Ezekiel, Chef. Put him down." Chris began laughing as Chef flexed his arms to toss the homeschooler.

"Hey, wait a minute! Homeschool will drown if you throw him while he's hogtied!" Eva got up in Chris's face with an angry look.

Noah interjected here, "Eva is, surprisingly, correct. You can't throw him like that. That is, unless you want a lawsuit from the prairie. I hear the courts are really fair over there." Sarcasm was dripping plainly from his voice.

Harold put a hand up, "Yeah, the average human density is lower than that of water. Even if Ezekiel managed to survive falling into a volcano, thus defying all scientific logic, even Houdini couldn't escape this."

Chris looked annoyed now as he turned to Scott, "What, you aren't going to lecture me too?"

Scott noticed all eyes turning to him immediately. The farm boy looked sheepish, "Uh, yeah, what they said."

Chris rolled his eyes and then smiled, "Don't worry everyone! My superior mind has come up with a solution that accounts for all of what you said!"

Noah, Scott, Harold, and Eva all shared glances as they wondered what the host's sadistic mind had cooked up to keep Ezekiel from climbing back aboard.

Ezekiel just looked cheerful in Chef's large arms, "Hooray! The Zeke gets t'a stay!"

* * *

"Pfft, that's the last time I defend you, Homeschool."

Noah couldn't help but agree as his arms reluctantly paddled through the waters of Wawanakwa Harbor, extremely weak and extremely unfit to be making such a long swimming journey.

The bookworm scowled as he remembered the smirk on Chris's face as he ordered Chef to throw all of them overboard. He had known that he couldn't evade Chef, so he had quickly accepted his fate and gotten dunked into the cold and mysterious waters.

Eva and Harold had tried to fight back. Scott had tried to run. It had all been hopeless; one after another, they joined him in the water. Ezekiel, still tied up, had been tossed overboard afterwards. Chris had yelled down that he was their responsibility. Eva had, of course, been the one to agree to carry him as they swam to shore.

His train of thought was broken by Harold joining into Eva's complaining, "Yeah, maybe you could've just accepted your fate. I mean, gosh! Now I'm all wet. I could get hypothermia for all you know."

Ezekiel at least looked somewhat regretful, "I'm sorry for your hypo'othermia, Harold. The Zeke was just wanting a clean ride back. I can't swim, homes."

Harold huffed in irritation, "Well I don't have it now. But I might have had it."

Eva breathed loudly in apparent strain at swimming for bother herself and Ezekiel, "Stop complaining, Harold. Only I get to complain here. Unless you want to carry Homeschool."

"Gosh, Eva, I thought you agreed to be nicer to me after you pushed me out of that window at the Playa?"

"That agreement stands as long as you don't annoy me."

Noah chuckled amusedly, which was quite uncharacteristic when he was on the show, "You two play nice, you hear? I'm not your babysitter while we're in the competition."

"You calling me a baby, egghead?" Eva cocked an eyebrow as she swam.

Noah stayed quiet, which caused Eva to throw Ezekiel over to him. Noah barely had the time to react as the homeschooler fell onto him and into his stick-thin arms. The bookworm just sighed in regret, "I guess I should've known better than to poke the bear."

Ezekiel smiled up at him, "Yo'o."

Scott swam up next to Noah at that moment and grabbed the homeschooler. Noah cocked an eyebrow as the farm boy grinned at him, "Ah, that Zeke, eh? What a character."

Noah, Harold, and Eva all stared at him for a few seconds before continuing on their way. Scott just smirked and began swimming.

"Thanks for the save, homie! The Zeke was worried that No'oah was gonna drop him, eh!"

* * *

**CONFESSIONAL:**

**Scott:** He smirked proudly as he pointed to the top of his head, "I'm gonna get in on that social dynamic to make people less likely to vote for me. Never hurts to have a backup plan. I could use all the help I can get. After all, lots of people here hate me for no reason!"

He shrugged, "Luckily I am a master of subtlety."

 **Harold:** Harold sighed, "That Ezekiel is always screwing up. I feel sorry for him, at least when I'm not annoyed by him."

He rubbed his chin in thought, "Hmmm, maybe he needs a good sensei to help him out. I could offer my services!"

 **Noah:** He had his arms crossed, "Yeah, I see what Scott is trying to do, trying to butter us up. It's quite pathetic really."

"It was nice to catch up with Eva and Homeschool for a few minutes, even if my arms are dead-tired now."

* * *

(The Killer Sharks' Cabin: Boys Side)

Mike sighed heavily as he flopped back onto his mattress. He didn't even care that his other cabin-mates had walked in with him. He was disappointed by his performance.

Ezekiel noticed this as he relaxed on his bunk. The prairie boy raised an eyebrow at the depressed behavior, "What's feedin' ya, Mike?"

Scott sighed as he dug through his pack, "The term is 'eating you', Zeke. And isn't it pretty obvious what's bothering Mike? He screwed up terribly in the challenge today."

Mike could be heard sighing as Alejandro narrowed his eyes at the farm boy, "I don't seem to remember you being much of a help either, Scott."

Scott looked defensive, "Well maybe if somebody didn't lock me up like some sort of armadillo, I might've shown my heroics."

Ezekiel nodded, "Yeah, I'm sure that Scott coulda fixed the cannon, eh!"

Scott rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, "Y-yeah, I totally could've done that! In fact, it was good luck for the other team that I was caged. They wouldn't have stood a chance!" He banged his elbow against the wall behind him to accent his point, only for the inertia to cause him to fall off of his bed and onto the ground.

"Owwww!"

Alejandro rolled his eyes and approached Mike's bed. The skinny boy was actively staring at the ceiling.

The Latino now looked concerned, "Mike, are you alright? You should know that we don't blame you for Manitoba Smith's total ineptitude."

Mike didn't move, but his brown eyes moved to meet the Latino's green ones, "Doesn't matter. I'm probably going to get voted out tonight, without having finished one challenge for myself."

Alejandro rubbed his arm, his eyes going first to Ezekiel, who looked sympathetic, and then to Scott, who was nursing his arm and crawling back onto his bed.

His green eyes glinted, "No, you won't be getting voted off tonight. Not if we work together."

Ezekiel cocked an eyebrow at the Latino and Mike suddenly sat up into a sitting position, gazing at Alejandro in wonderment.

"What do you mean?" The boy had an extremely hopeful tone seeping into his voice.

Alejandro smiled cockily, putting his hands on his hips as he walked into the middle of the room, "If the four of us vote together, we could probably save you, Mike. After all, it's unlikely that anyone will get 5 votes."

Scott began paying attention here, and he did not look amused, "Woah, woah, woah. Hold on a second. Why would I help to save Mike? What's in it for me?"

Mike glared at him and Alejandro's eyes shot the farm boy quickly, his gaze turning dark and threatening.

Scott got the message. He muttered some things to himself and then pumped his fist in the air with a mockingly cheerful tone, "You know, I've always liked Mike. A lot. Of coooouuuurse I'll help out."

Alejandro nodded and turned his sights to Ezekiel, who looked to be mulling it over.

After a few seconds of silence, Ezekiel perked up, holding an index finger up, "I've gotta go'o t'a the bathroom, homies."

Patient expressions turned annoyed that he had gotten their hopes up as the prairie boy walked out of the cabin with his hands in his hoodie pockets.

Outside, two figures peered into the back-window of the cabin, having been eavesdropping on the whole conversation.

Justin smirked as he took his sights away from the window, "Great. Now all I have to do is plant an idea in Ezekiel's head, and I can easily get Gwen out of here tonight!"

Lindsay, who was crouched next to him on the ground, just gave him a confused look, "But I thought that we were going to surprise them and invite them to our cook-out?"

Justin turned toward her with a raised eyebrow, staring wordlessly at her for a few seconds before realization struck him. He slapped his face with his left hand and sighed in exasperation, "Lindsay, I already told you that a 'stake-out' does not involve actual steaks!"

Lindsay tilted her head to the side, her blue eyes giving him a questioning look, "But then, what are you, Trent, Harold, and Cody doing with all that food from the kitchen?"

The male model sighed and turned his body completely to face her. His hands formed teaching gestures, as if he was talking to a small child.

"We're having a party for OUR band. As in, only us. Not these guys."

Lindsay began nodding and her eyes lit up, "Oh, I understand."

Justin sighed in relief, "Great, now I'm going to intercept Ezeki—"

"Can I come to the party?"

Justin facepalmed.

* * *

**CONFESSIONAL:**

**Ezekiel:** The prairie boy rubbed the top of his toque thoughtfully, "I do'on't kno'ow who t'a vo'ote off, eh. The Zeke is finally getting to like some 'a his teammates! If o'only their was something good t'a go'o off 'a.

Suddenly, a deep whispering voice could be heard right outside of the confession cam, "Zeeeeeke. Zeeeeeke. Can you hear meeee?"

Ezekiel's eyes widened as he began glancing frantically around inside of the confession cam, "Where is that coming from, eh?"

The voice returned, sounding gleeful now, "Oh, uhhhhh, I'm in your head...yeah, I'm your conscience and stuff."

Ezekiel looked somewhat confused, "L-like Pino'occhio'o, eh?"

"...Yeah, exactly like Pinocchio. Look, I've come to tell you that you should Gwen off tonight."

Ezekiel furrowed his brows, "Why, eh? The Zeke doesn't have nothin' 'gainst Gwen, yo'o."

The voice sounded somewhat annoyed now, "Just think, she has Duncan waiting for her at the resort. It would actually be a favor. After all, she doesn't seem to like it much here."

Ezekiel rubbed his chin, nodding slightly, "Yeah, I guess you're right, eh. Thanks for the tip!"

An evil laugh could be heard, "Always happy to help."

Ezekiel nodded as he stood up and put his hand on the doorknob, "Hey conscience?"

"Yeah?"

"Let's talk again, eh. The Zeke has trouble makin' decisions all the time, homes."

There was an awkward silence for a few seconds before the voice answered, "Uhhhh, alright. Whatever it takes to get you to vote for Gwen."

* * *

(Outside of The Killer Sharks Cabin)

Noah tapped his foot patiently against the wooden porch beneath him as he turned the page of one of his books and read the next page very slowly.

He had been exiled out here while Harold and Justin got his cabin ready for the Drama Brothers party tonight. They had promptly asked Noah and Lightning to leave until the party was over. The bookworm had quickly taken the hint and left early. He had taken refuge in front of the Killer Sharks cabin, using the inside light and quiet to catch up on some light reading. They would be headed to the elimination ceremony soon anyway, so things would be even more quiet for a small amount of time.

His peace and quiet, however, was soon interrupted by humming that only seemed to grow louder by the second.

The bookworm narrowed his eyes and lifted his head, his gaze scanning the area around the cabin. Sure enough, Ezekiel was approaching.

Noah's face returned to a neutral look as he greeted the other boy, "Hey there, Homeschool. What trouble are you getting to?"

Ezekiel just looked plain confused, "Trouble? The Zeke just went t'a the confession cam, eh."

Noah rolled his eyes, "Already writing new rap lyrics? I'll pass on the free performance."

Ezekiel shook his head, "Nah, The Zeke hasn't written any new material in awhile, yo'o. I was just thinking abo'out who t'a vo'ote for tonight, eh."

Noah looked interested now. He shut his book and braced his chin against one of his arms, "Oh, really? Who, pray tell?"

The homeschool glanced around to make sure that nobody else could hear him before leaning in uncomfortably close to Noah. The egghead flinched away a bit.

"Gwen, eh. My conscience helped me decide back there. Talked me into'o it and everything!"

Noah fanned his left hand around his face in disgust, "Yuck. You still don't use mouthwash, do you, Homeschool?"

Ezekiel shrugged and walked toward his cabin door. He opened it and glanced at Noah one more time before walking in, waving at him.

"Later, homes."

Noah rolled his eyes before slipping into the other side of the Killer Sharks cabin. He needed to fix this problem right away.

* * *

**CONFESSIONAL:**

**Noah:** He had his arms crossed as he scowled at the camera, "So I knew that Alejandro was probably behind it. I mean, I've seen him cozying up to Homeschool lately. Homeschool is just too clueless and naïve to realize it."

He now smirked, "But the eel loses this round, if I'm correct. I told Gwen and Leshawna all about it. Now they've got their sights set on Alegonedro. I told them to convince Cody, Trent, and Eva to vote for him too. The eel should be gone in a few hours."

A brief look of regret passed over his face, "I couldn't save Owen from Alejandro. And I couldn't save Duncan from Justin and Courtney. I will save Gwen tonight."

* * *

(The Killer Sharks' Cabin: Boys Side)

"Alright, so who are we going to vote for?"

Scott looked wearily at Alejandro, who had just asked the question to the entire room. He was laying comfortably on his bed. Alejandro was standing in the middle of the room, and Ezekiel and Mike were likewise laying on their own beds as they listened.

"How about Leshawna? Last I checked, she was the reason why our cannon exploded earlier," Scott put out there with some snark.

Alejandro pursed his lips, "I agree that she messed up quite badly. Perhaps it would be a good time to get rid of her."

Ezekiel's eyes widened, "No! The Zeke just began talking t'a Leshawna. She's a cool cat, eh. I won't vo'ote her off."

Scott scowled, "Alright then, Zeke, who do you think we should vote for?"

Ezekiel smiled proudly, "The Zeke thinks that we should vote off Gwen, eh. She got captured at the beginning 'a the challenge and she would have Duncan waiting for her at the Playa, yo'o."

Alejandro tapped his chin in thought and glanced at Scott. Scott returned the look.

"I think it's a good idea."

Everyone turned their eyes to Mike, who had been silent up until that moment.

Mike wriggled a bit under the gazes, "Think about it? Gwen didn't really do anything today, and she would have her boyfriend waiting for her. It wouldn't be a bad thing to vote for her."

Alejandro nodded and Scott just shrugged. Ezekiel smiled.

"Alright then, eh. Let's go'o! The Zeke survives another ceremo'ony! Word!"

* * *

**CONFESSIONAL:**

**Scott:** The farm boy rolled his eyes, "God, I wish that Ezekiel would drop the slang. It would make it a _lot_ easier to work with him."

 **Mike:** He sat awkwardly in front of the camera, "I'm a bit skeptical of working with Scott, but Alejandro has been really helpful so far. I mean, without Cam here, it's been really hard to keep things together."

He looked down now, "Heck, maybe I just need to get to know him and Ezekiel. I mean, they're helping me out tonight. That's gotta count for something."

 **Cody:** The tech geek scratched the top of his head with a conflicted expression on his face, "So Gwen wants me to vote for Alejandro...but he's an okay guy now. And I need him for operation cheer-up Heather!"

He slouched down, "I guess I'm going to have to vote for Mike. I mean, Manitoba messed up a lot earlier, and he really got Eva worked up. Maybe she'll calm down if he goes?"

 **Trent:** "So Gwen and Leshawna approached me, asking me to vote for Alejandro. I don't have anything against the guy, but hey, I didn't have anyone else in mind." The musician shrugged.

* * *

(The Campfire Pit)

Chris looked disappointed as he walked up to his signature podium by the campfire, a silver plate with 8 marshmallows on it in his right hand.

"Alright, I must say that I was quite disappointed with your performance out there today, Sharks. I mean, you not only blew up your own cannon, but you also got sabotaged by Zoey and Lindsay! I mean, just really disgraceful," Chris shook his head with a frown as some of the Sharks began looking sheepish, especially Leshawna.

"Which is why one of your sorry butts will be sent home tonight for the second time in a row."

The host now learned forward with a smirk, "Now, I'm sure I don't have to explain the process to you all."

Some of the campers began looking hopeful.

"But, as I know how much all of you love this part of the show, I'm going to do it anyway."

Audible groans could be heard all around, even from behind Chris. The host whirled around to see Chef standing there. The burly cook quickly began looking around and whistling.

"Chef?! How could you?! I thought we were friends, dude!"

Chef looked at him with a frown, "That wasn't me."

Chris put his hands on his hips, "Is that really all you're going to say?"

Chef remained silent.

Chris pursed his lips and turned back around to face the Sharks, but not before shooting another suspicious glare at Chef.

"Ahem. Got a bit side-tracked there. As I was saying, whoever's name I do not call will be eliminated, take a walk down the Dock of Shame, and finally take a ride on the Boat of Losers."

He shot a dramatic look at the camera, "Which means you can't come back."

"Eveeeerrrrrrrrrrrr."

He glanced at the Sharks for a few moments before smiling at them and nodding his head gratefully, "Good. I see that you've all learned to respect your superiors. Maybe I'll dunk you kids in jellyfish waters more often in the future."

Eva scowled, "I would prefer it if you didn't."

Chris laughed, "Ha! You act like this is a democracy. Democracies are laaaame."

He seemed to realize what he said just a little too late, "Except for Canada, of course! Which I love!"

Gwen smirked, "Nice save there."

Chris smiled proudly, holding his head up high, "Why thank you, Gwen. I try."

The Sharks all rolled their eyes at his ego.

Chris opened his eyes now, holding the first marshmallow of the night in his right hand. He gave a one-sided smirk to the Sharks.

"Alright, so Scott and Eva both won immunity! They are both safe!" The host tossed a marshmallow to Scott and then one to Eva. Both of them caught their marshmallows and got up to walk over to the podium.

"Yeah baby! The Scottmeister is safe again!" Scott pumped his fist as he walked past Chris. Chris rolled his eyes and stuck his foot out. The farm boy promptly tripped over it, falling to the ground. He shot a quick glare at Chris as he got up and brushed himself off. Some of his teammates muffled their laughter. Eva didn't however, prompting Scott to shoot her a nasty glare.

"Cody, Ezekiel. You are both safe."

The two boys in question caught their marshmallows and joined Scott and Eva. Cody shot a sly grin to Eva, causing her to turn away from him. He frowned and Ezekiel sent him an encouraging thumbs up.

"Yikes! Cody gets shot down again! Who could've predicted that," Chris snarked off before turning his gaze back to the Sharks who were still sitting on their log seats.

"Trent, you are safe today because you are the only one to actually give a good performance. Congrats man."

Trent caught his marshmallow with a large smile as he went up to the podium and high-fived Cody and Ezekiel. He even high-fived Scott.

Chris looked rather displeased now, "Leshawna, despite screwing up majorly and arguably performing the worst out of anyone here, you are safe. So, nice luck, I guess."

Leshawna looked really happy as she caught her marshmallow. She winked at Gwen and walked over to the crowd of safe contestants. Ezekiel shot her a smile, as did Eva, Cody, and Trent.

Chris now examined the second-to-last marshmallow closely, "This marshmallow goes to someone who contributed very little today, and who was basically not even in the challenge at all. Honestly, I don't think you deserve it, but hey," he shrugged his shoulders, "I can't vote here. It's really a bit tyrannical to me. Maybe I'll talk to the producers about that for next season as part of my contract."

Gwen, Alejandro, and Mike all looked hopeful that this marshmallow would go to them. After all, the description matched all three of them at least a bit.

Chris looked back at the three with a smile, "And this marshmallow goes to..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

The suspense was thick in the air as the campfire cracked in the afternoon breeze. Chris shot a smirk to Alejandro and Gwen as he said, "Mike."

Mike looked conflicted as he caught the marshmallow. He honestly didn't think he really deserved it. But he slunked over to join his other safe teammates anyway. Trent clapped him sympathetically on the back.

Chris now took the last marshmallow off of his silver platter, glancing between Gwen and Alejandro evilly, "Now, campers, this is the last marshmallow of the night. Whoever doesn't receive it will be gone, permanently. Which means you lose your shot at winning 5 million dollars and you also lose the chance to make amends for bad stuff that you've done."

Gwen and Alejandro both looked extremely worried now, gripping their log seats fearfully.

Chris's white smile glinted in the moonlight as he bounced the marshmallow into the air and then back into his hand, "It's really such a shame that one of you will be going. I like you, Alejandro. And I like to torture you, Gwen."

"But there can only be one winner here."

Gwen and Alejandro exchanged glances before turning back to Chris. The host looked like he was thoroughly enjoying the suspense.

"The last marshmallow goes to..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

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"..."

"Alejandro."

Gwen's eyes widened exponentially as Alejandro gladly caught his marshmallow.

"R-really? Me?" She glanced at her teammates. Some of them looked a bit sheepish.

Leshawna, on the other hand, looked horrified. As Alejandro walked up the join the safe Sharks, she stopped him with a hand to his chest.

"Now hold on here! Leshawna knows that you're behind this, you snake!"

Alejandro looked at her sympathetically, "Now, now chica, I assure you that I didn't do anything under-handed. Our teammates just agreed that Gwen's performance today was sub-par. We had to vote somebody off."

Leshawna looked back to the others, her gaze measuring them up, "Is this true?!"

All of them looked uncomfortable at being put on the spot.

Gwen walked up and put a consoling hand on Leshawna's shoulder. Leshawna turned to look at her friend with sad eyes.

"It's alright, Leshawna. They're right that I didn't do anything today. At least I'll get to see Duncan sooner rather than later."

Leshawna gazed at her, "I'm going to miss you."

Gwen smiled at her, "And I'm going to miss you too." The goth hugged her and then whispered to her, "By the way, could you pick the whole Cody thing up while I'm gone? It doesn't look like I'll be that big of a help anymore."

Leshawna smiled sadly, "Of course I will. Leave it to Leshawna!"

Gwen chuckled a bit before moving on to the rest of her team. She shook Cody's hand, as well as Trent's. She nodded at Eva and the others, "Well guys, I'm sorry for today. I hope you can get the Bears tomorrow."

"We're gonna miss you Gwen."

"Don't have too much fun at the Playa now, ya hear?"

Gwen laughed lightly as she walked down the Dock of Shame, playing over the day's events in her mind as she approached the Boat of Losers. She sighed and muttered to herself, "Well, there goes apologizing to Courtney for now, I guess."

Chef spoke up from the driver's seat on the Boat of Losers, "Look at the bright side, soldier. Apologizing in-person can get testy. Now you can do it by letter or something! Much easier." The cook nodded at her as she leaned against the boat's railing, glancing at the moon as the boat took off from the dock, heading toward the Playa des Losers.

* * *

The Sharks watched the Boat of Losers take off into the night before heading back toward their cabin as a group.

Leshawna glared at Alejandro and took the lead, still shocked at her friend's elimination.

Alejandro, however, ignored this and decided to spend some time with another one of his teammates. He placed a sympathetic hand on Mike's shoulder as they approached the Sharks' cabin.

"I hope that you're feeling alright, amigo. I know how hard it must be for you to just wake up at the end of a challenge and then almost get voted off."

Mike glanced at him from the side with a neutral expression before giving a slight smile, "Hey, thanks man. I really appreciate that. I just wish that I could stay completely in-control for just one challenge, I mean, I've gotten votes in both ceremonies so far!"

Alejandro responded with a smile of his own, "I can try to help you with that, if you want. I would be happy to help a teammate in need."

Noah, who was lounging in a chair on the porch of the Killer Sharks' cabin until the Drama Brothers party would be over, shot a suspicious look at Alejandro as the team entered their cabin.

* * *

**CONFESSIONAL:**

**Noah:** The egghead crossed his arms and looked neutrally at the camera as always, "Yeah, it seems clear to me that Alejerkdro is on the move. Everyone else might be fooled by this new attitude, but I can see it for what it is: a sham. It's exactly what he did before for crying out loud!" Noah waved his hands in the air exasperatedly.

"The problem is that I have virtually no way to do anything about it until the merge. In that time, he'll have already gained the trust of all of the Sharks!"

He sighed, "Well, if this game was easy, I would've won it by now, I guess."

* * *

(Behind the Bushes Next to the Campfire)

The Boat of Losers could be seen sailing away from the island, the waves cascading behind it as it kept to a steady pace.

Justin turned to face his left, looking quite bored, "Are you satisfied now? It's done."

The camera pans over to reveal the person with him is Courtney. She smirked and held her hand up for a high-five, "Yes I am! You did a fantastic job, partner!"

Justin raised an eyebrow at her uncharacteristic kindness and excitement, but high-fived her anyway.

* * *

**CONFESSIONAL:**

**Justin:** He looked quite confused, "So, does Courtney like me now or is she just excited about eliminating Gwen? Or does she still hate me and is trying to lure me into a false sense of security?"

He put a hand on his forehead in fatigue, "She's way too confusing of an ally. Honestly, I wish that I had the foresight to make good decisions."

 **Courtney:** She beamed at the camera, "Finally! They're both finally gone! Now all I have to worry about is the minor problem of Harold!"

She looked thoughtful for a moment, "I feel on top of the world right now. Is this how it feels to be drunk?"

* * *

Justin scrambled up the porch stairs to the Screaming Bears cabin, bursting through one of the sets of doors in a hurry.

"Hey guys, I'm sorry that I'm a bit late. I had something important to do-"

"AHHHHHHHHHH! JUSTIN, WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN HERE?!"

Justin's eyes shot open and adrenaline took over his body. He quickly jumped outside of the room and shut the door behind him swiftly.

He held his chest to feel his heart beating at one thousand miles per hour.

After he regained his composure, he rolled his eyes and muttered to himself, "What an idiot. I go into this cabin every day and I couldn't remember which side was which."

He took a deep breath and turned the knob of the cabin's other door. Inside, he was greeted by bright lights, loud music, and bunches of food and drinks.

Cody was the first to notice his arrival. The tech geek was fiddling with his phone, which presumably was where the music was coming from.

"Justin! My man! Glad to see you arrived just on time!"

Justin's smile immediately turned into a scowl as he approached one of the bunks and flopped down onto it, "Oh c'mon. Give me a break. I had something to do. I got here as quickly as I could."

Harold, who was currently leafing through his backpack and pulling out board games and packs of cards now joined the conversation, "What were you doing, eh? You're never late. Let me guess, girl problems?"

Trent turned up behind Justin, slapping the model on the back playfully, "That sounds about right. Good to see you made it, dude."

The others began laughing and making jokes about Justin's past escapades with the ladies as he sat there with an annoyed look on his face.

"You have no idea," he muttered quietly to himself.

* * *

Chris stood out at the dock, the moon beaming down onto him as he waved at the camera with a wide grin.

"So that was Episode 5! We saw betrayal, we saw screw-uppery, and we saw Gwen get tossed!"

The host rubbed his chin, "Hmmm, first Duncan, and now Gwen. It's almost like there is a pattern there."

The host then broke into a mischievous grin as he threw his arms upward, "But who cares! Someone mysteriously sabotaged the Sharks! Eva nearly killed Manitoba! Trent, in a surprise twist, proved to be the best pirate of all, and Heather proved to have a heart buried deep deep inside of that Grinch chest of hers!"

His grin turned into a one-sided smirk as he chuckled, "And just when everyone thought that Alejandro was a goner, it turned out that enough people were Alefondro of him to save his bacon!"

He laughed at his own joke before winking, "You like what I did there? I called him Alefondro!"

"What will our next over-the-top challenge will be? And who will try to prove their gumption? Will Mike stop screwing up? Will Noah finally find success in an elimination ceremony? Who knows, but we'll be there to film it all for your entertainment!"

"Find out next time on TOTAL. DRAMA. WARS!"

* * *

**Votes:**

Alejandro: Gwen

Ezekiel: Gwen

Mike: Gwen

Scott: Gwen

Leshawna: Alejandro

Gwen: Alejandro

Trent: Alejandro

Cody: Mike

Eva: Mike

* * *

**Vote Tally:**

Gwen: 4 Votes

Alejandro: 3 Votes

Mike: 2 Votes

* * *

**The Killer Sharks: Alejandro, Scott, Cody, Trent, Ezekiel, Mike, Leshawna, and Eva**

**The Screaming Bears: Lightning, Heather, Zoey, Courtney, Justin, Noah, Lindsay, and Harold**

* * *

**Elimination Order: Jo, Duncan, Brick, Gwen, ?**

* * *

**That's the end of chapter 9! I really hope you enjoyed it, because I sure enjoyed writing it!**

**_Any thoughts on this chapter?_ **

**Gwen was, of course, eliminated because I felt like her character has been focused on enough in past seasons and because I felt like the other characters have more potential to be interesting. Sorry to all of my Gwen fans! At least she's back at the playa with Duncan now, though :) (Even though I personally like her with Trent more myself)**

**I felt like this one was more of a focus on the Screaming Bears to make up for me giving them less of the spotlight for the past two chapters. All of the drama near the end was pre-planned a while ago, but I needed to fit it around the challenge.**

**So, here are some questions for anyone who might want to review: (You totally should, by the way.)**

**How far will Justin's influence go?**

**Are you liking the conflicts so far? Are you liking the antagonists?**

**How shocked were you that Gwen was eliminated?**

**This is WhatTheHeck23 signing off!**


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